Teenager shot in legs

A 17-year-old was shot in the legs in a paramilitary-style attack in Londonderry, police said today.

Detectives said five men forced their way into a house at Virginia Court in the Gobnascale area at 10pm last night.

Two of the men confronted the teenager in an upstairs bedroom and shot him twice.

The gang escaped the scene in a waiting car.

SDLP Assembly member for the Foyle constituency, Pat Ramsey, condemned the shooting.

He said: "There have been a dozen of these shootings in Derry over the last year and the time is long past for everyone in the community to reject them and to turn those responsible over to the courts. "

He added: "There is a battle on for control of our communities and the gunmen need to learn that they are not going to win it. The good people will win, the hard-working families that respect the law and want the protection of the law.

"The gunmen are going to end up in jail and when they are eventually released there will be no hero's welcome, just the contempt of a community that they attacked for criminal gain."