A couple were shot in the legs at their home in west Belfast. Picture by Declan Roughan

A "RESPECTED" married couple in their fifties have both been shot in the legs at their home in west Belfast.

The attack happened at a house in Norglen Parade in the Turf Lodge area just after 6.15pm yesterday.

The couple were named locally as Peter and Marie Dorrian.

The pair were taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital for treatment to their injuries.

Sinn Féin MLA Pat Sheehan said the Dorrians were a "respected family in the community".

"There is no suggestion that they are mixed up in any kind of criminality or anything like that," he said.

"People are mystified as to why they were targeted. Whatever the motivation this has to be condemned."

SDLP MLA Alex Attwood condemned the shooting as an "act of tyranny".

"The fact that two people, a man and a woman and both in their fifties, have been injured confirms that no one is off limits to those who are now using the gun," he said.

“At the weekend I warned of a new twin tyranny gathering itself in west Belfast. Those who use the gun on the one hand and the pushers of cocaine and heroin on the other. The police, the community and the agencies all need to confront both."

Alliance justice spokesman Trevor Lunn said anyone with information should pass it on to police.

"I send my best wishes to the couple injured in this senseless and cowardly act of violence for a full recovery," he said.