THE murder of Ray Johnston in front of his partner and her young daughter was shocking in its barbarity and ruthlessness.

Neighbours described a "bloodbath" as they entered the house in Poleglass on the outskirts of west Belfast where the 28 year-old was shot twice in the chest on Tuesday evening.

His murder is part of a pattern of increasingly lawless and violent criminal activity by gangs operating in the west of the city, an area that had hoped such heartbreaking events were a thing of the past.

While the main dissident republican groups are either on ceasefire or hamstrung by the intelligence services, questions must be asked about what is being done in relation to the handful of ragtag vigilante groups that appear to be operating with impunity in the area.

Action Against Drugs (AAD) and factions of the INLA have both been involved in the blackmail and extortion of individuals with the penalty for not paying up either maiming or death.

To date there have been no known convictions for this type of activity and that raises significant questions about the police response to these gangs.

The murder of Joe Reilly in October 2016, just a short distance away from Tuesday's killing, was claimed by the vigilante group AAD and carried out in similar circumstances to Tuesday's attack.

West Belfast cannot be left to the mercy of vigilante gangs who use fear and violence for self gain.

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The policing vacuum that existed in the wake of the Troubles should have been filled by now.

Instead there is still mistrust and a a certain degree of detachment that allows some people, such as those who gunned down Ray Johnston in front of a young family, to continue to peddle death and heartache.