Man killed in Greenock 'targeted shooting' named by police as Neil Canney as murder probe under way

A man who died after being shot on the doorstep of his home in Greenock has been named by police.

Neil Canney was seriously wounded on the doorstep of his home in Nairn Road after a firearm had been discharged shortly after 1am on February 28.

The 37-year-old was taken by ambulance to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow where he died a short time later.

His family is aware and a report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal. No one else in the house at the time was injured.

Police are carrying out a murder investigation into the incident and say while they have not established a motive, they believe that the incident was targeted.

Detective superintendent Cameron Miller said: “Although we have yet to establish the motive for this attack, it does appear to have been a targeted incident.

“That said, this is a shocking incident and our thoughts are with Mr Canney’s family

“Extensive police enquiries are ongoing at this time and officers are gathering CCTV footage from the surrounding area.

“Our officers are also going door to door and there is a continued high visibility police presence in the area.”

An incident caravan has been set up on Nairn Road so officers can be approached directly. STV News

From the police investigation so far, officers are aware that a number of people wearing dark clothing turned up to the house on Nairn Road before Mr Canney was injured.

It is then believed that the group dispersed towards Angus Road.

Detective Miller added: “We’d be keen to hear from anyone who was in Nairn Road or the immediate vicinity between 12.50am and 1.15am who may have seen the suspects in the area or who may have dashcam footage from the street around that time.

“This is a hugely traumatic incident for the family and friends of Neil. I believe the answer lies within the local community and I would urge anyone with any information to come forward or supply this information to the police anonymously.

“I fully understand that the community may have concerns in sharing any information with the Police but I want to give assurances that any information that is provided will be treated in confidence without the fear of personal information being disclosed.”

He added: “This is an appalling crime and there is no place for this behaviour within any community. At the time of this incident there were young children present within the home address and the person responsible showed a total disregard for their safety.

“I would ask the community to take this into consideration as people living locally will know who is responsible, and no matter how insignificant they believe the information they hold may be, to share it with police

“I would further ask that if anyone holds any video footage or images recorded on mobile phones, has information contained on social media such as SnapChat and Instagram amongst others to also share these with my team which can also be done anonymously.”

Anyone who has any information that will assist the investigation can get in touch with police by phoning 101, quoting reference number 0151 of February 28, 2023.

Information can be passed anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

A website that gives members of the public access to a form to send information directly to the major investigation team has also been set up. Anyone submitting information in this way can select to remain anonymous.

The portal can be accessed at https://mipp.police.uk/operation/SCOT23S12-PO1