Man Held After NI Teenager Shot Dead

Police are questioning a man over the murder of a teenage girl and the serious wounding of her sister in a shooting in a small village in Northern Ireland.

The pair were shot at a house in William Court, Bellaghy, near Magherafelt, County Derry.

The victim is believed to have celebrated her 18th birthday last week.

Her elder sister is thought to be in her early 20s and the mother of two young children.It is believed she has been taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast for surgery.

A 26-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder around half an hour after the shooting, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said.

Another man and a woman, both aged 28, were arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

A PSNI spokesman said: "All three were arrested in the Toome area and have been taken to the Serious Crime Suite at Antrim police station."

It has been reported that the dead girl was visiting her older sister in the village at the time of the shooting.

Forensic officers were examining the scene at the house, which remained sealed off.

Martin McGuinness, Northern Ireland's deputy first minister and Mid-Ulster MP, said his heart went out to the family of the girl tragically killed.

"People I have spoken to in the area this morning are in a state of shock," he said.

"I would wish to extend my thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of the victim at this terrible time."