Police investigating the nailing of a man to a fence in Co Antrim are investigating a paramilitary link to the attack.
The UDA are being blamed locally following the attack on the man in his 20s in Bushmills. He was found shortly after midnight on Sunday with a nail in each hand.
Two vans, one belonging to the injured man, were found on fire in a car park near Dundarave Park. Graffiti believed to relate to a “final warning” to the victim was daubed on nearby public toilets.
The man was left with potentially life-changing but not life-threatening injuries, the PSNI said.
Assistant Chief Constable Bobby Singleton told BBC NI it was a “really shocking incident with levels of, almost, ultra violence”.
Speaking on Monday, Alliance MLA Sian Mullholland described the attack as “absolutely uncalled for and unjustifiable”.
She said that there was “no place for vigilantism”, adding this was “something that shouldn’t be happening in 2024 in our society”.
“If people do have concerns, the police and the justice system as the only route that we have to follow, otherwise we’re in the wild west,” Ms Mulholland said.
She added the “ripple effects” of the “barbaric” attack will impact the community in Bushmills, the emergency services who responded to the incident and tourists who were close to the incident staying in campervans.