Police arrest man (37) over murder of Mark Hall shot in front of his family in Belfast

The PSNI said the man was arrested in Belfast on Thursday evening and remains in custody assisting detectives with their enquiries.

A PSNI spokesperson said: “Officers continue to appeal to anyone who was in the St James or Rodney Drive area on Saturday and who witnessed any suspicious activity or captured dash-cam footage in the area to contact police on 101 quoting reference number 1466 18/12/21.

"You can also submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/.”

Mr Hall was shot through a window of his home in front of his family by two gunmen, police have said.

A shot was also fired at the sister of victim Mark Hall, passing through a handbag and narrowly missing her as she stood in the street outside.

Hall (30) had links to organised crime and was believed to be a close friend of slain gangster Warren Crossan.

It’s understood he was not long out of jail and had recently been acquitted of gun and drug offences.

Crossan (28) was previously arrested and questioned about the murder of Dublin gangland criminal Robbie Lawlor, who was shot dead in the Ardoyne area of north Belfast in April 2020.

Lawlor was the chief suspect for the gruesome murder of teenager Keane Mulready Woods (17) in January 2020.

Addressing the media on Sunday, Detective Superintendent Eamonn Corrigan said it was too early to speculate on a motive for the murder of Mark Hall but said that it was a “targeted attack”.

He added: “These gunmen do not think about the impact attacks like this have on the wider community, who are rightfully shocked and fearful.

“I would appeal to anyone who has any information about this murder to bring it forward.

“I need to hear from those who may have witnessed the attack or seen anyone acting suspiciously in the Rodney Drive area before or after the shooting.

“This is a busy area with many residents and I am also asking anyone who may have captured any video footage of the incident to please make contact and make that available to us.”

“These gunmen were completely reckless and dangerous in their actions. They fired shots in a street in which a child was standing, and this child would have been visible to the gunmen.”