Man found shot dead outside Derry

The killing of a man whose body was dumped on the outskirts of Derry bore the hallmarks of a paramilitary-style murder, it emerged today. Ciaran Doherty, 31, was found on a road near the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic with his hands tied behind his back and two gunshot wounds to the head. The detective investigating the killing said the murdered man was the father of a two-and-a-half-year-old girl. Detective Chief Inspector Ian Harrison said: "This city has moved on, we don't want this sort of thing. It is time now to stand up to these people. What they are is criminals, they are unrepresentative of this town, and we need to get them off the streets." A priest who visited the murder scene, Father Stephen McLaughlin, said it was a "chilling" sight. "A man was murdered on a quiet country road in the darkness of night. It's something that's hard to take in, there's just a feeling of complete revulsion, you feel sick to the pit of your stomach," he said. The victim's body was discovered on Braehead Road near the border road to Donegal just before midnight last night. The Police Service of Northern Ireland cordoned off the area and traffic was diverted from the scene. Detectives will be investigating if the killing has any links to the recent increase in dissident republican violence in the city. The murder happened 48 hours after a car bomb exploded outside a Newry courthouse . Sinn Féin assembly member Martina Anderson said community workers who arrived before her at the scene said it was "horrendous". Anderson added: "The vast majority of people in Derry would absolutely condemn what has happened here in their city this evening." The Social Democratic and Labour party (SDLP) MP for Foyle, Mark Durkan, said: "The people of Derry will be disgusted and appalled to learn of this murder. This morning I attended the scene of where the body was found and I have spoken to the police about this horrific killing. On behalf of the SDLP, I totally and absolutely condemn this brutal and crude murder which is a throwback to the very worst of our past." Veteran Northern Ireland civil rights campaigner Eamon McCann called today for a protest against the murder. McCann and the leftwing People Before Profit organisation are planning a city centre demonstration about the killing. People Before Profit organised a protest earlier this month against a dissident republican attack on a Derry city centre business.