Son of murder victim fights father’s killer on Falls Road in Belfast

Notarantonio served an 11 year prison sentence for the 2006 manslaughter of Gerard Devlin, who he stabbed to death during a gang attack.

A PSNI spokeswoman said: “Officers on mobile patrol came across the man, aged in his 20s, at around 9.40pm. He subsequently attended hospital for treatment to injuries, including cuts to his ear and lip.

“It is reported that he was assaulted by another male in the Lower Falls area earlier that evening, and I am appealing to anyone with information to contact us.”

Witnesses to the fight say it began when Notarantonio jumped out of a car to confront Devlin.

“Gary was sitting at the bus stop waiting on the Glider when Franco got out of a car and threw a coat over his head,” explained an onlooker.

“It was then that they started throwing punches at each other. There is a video going round of it, but it doesn’t tell the full story. It doesn’t show how the fight started.”

This is the second time in 15 months that Notarantonio has been involved in a clash with a son of Gerard Devlin — the man he stabbed to death 15 years ago. In February last year he was recorded brawling with Gerard Devlin Jnr outside the City Cemetery in west Belfast.

Notarantonio’s latest opponent, Gary Devlin, has led a troubled life since his father’s killing.

Before Christmas he suffered a serious head injury after getting into a confrontation with a doorman at the McDonald’s fast food store in the centre of Belfast.

He was body-slammed by the bouncer who he had grabbed in a headlock. Devlin was rushed to intensive care having suffered a fractured skull and bleed to the brain.

In 2019 he was shot with a crossbow during fighting at the controversial New Lodge dissident republican bonfire in Belfast.

Devlin, who had gone there to visit a girlfriend, was attacked by four males who kicked and punched him as he lay on the ground.

As he tried to escape one fired a crossbow bolt at him which struck him in the hand.

Friends say that since being hurt in the McDonald’s incident Devlin — who survived a shotgun attack by criminals when he was 17-years-old — has been trying to avoid trouble.

“Gary has a brain injury and knows that he could die if he gets punched on the head, he has genuinely been trying to stay out of any trouble,” revealed a pal.

In 2016 Devlin was jailed for 26 months in Scotland for racially abusing a man, challenging him to a fight and then attacking police officers by spitting and biting.