Police in Belfast say a total of eight shots were fired in what they have described as the 'barbaric assassination' of Jim Donegan.

The 43-year-old father-of-two was shot outside a school on the Glen Road in west Belfast yesterday afternoon.

Mr Donegan was waiting on his 13-year-old son to emerge from St Mary's Grammar school at the time.

Several pupils and staff witnessed the murder.

The PSNI has released CCTV images of the suspected gunman in a high-vis vest with the word 'security' on the back.

The footage was capture before and after the shooting.

Detective Chief Inspector Pete Montgomery refused to be drawn on weather Mr Donegan was known to police, or under threat.

He said: "I don't believe it's relevant at this stage of my inquiry.

"What I find important is to find out who this murderer is, and where that gun is. No child should have to witness happened there yesterday."

He added: "Hundreds of children were pouring out of the three schools in the Glen Road area of West Belfast at the time – many of them witnessing the assassination of the father of two. 

"Jim’s son was spared from this thankfully but only by a few seconds."