BELFAST – Police said today that “violent dissident republicans” were the “prime focus” of an investigation into the shooting of an off-duty police officer in Northern Ireland.
The shooting, condemned by politicians as “outrageous and shameful”, took place in the town of Omagh in County Tyrone late yesterday.
Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell, a high-profile officer who has led major investigations, was taken to hospital after being injured in the attack at a sports complex just before 8pm (4am Malaysian time), police said.
Police in Northern Ireland are subject to sporadic attacks that were once common in the region, which was plagued by decades of sectarian violence before the signing of 1998 peace accords.
Tensions are currently running high in the province, with unionists loyal to the UK collapsing its power sharing government in protest at post-Brexit trading rules, which they say are distancing Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.
“The investigation is at an early stage, we are keeping an open mind,” Assistant Chief Constable Mark McEwan told BBC Radio Ulster today.
“The primary focus is on violent dissident republicans and within that there is a primary focus as well on New IRA.”
Northern Ireland first minister designate and the deputy leader of the pro-Ireland party Sinn Fein Michelle O’Neill called the attack “outrageous and shameful”.
“My immediate thoughts are with the officer and his family. I unreservedly condemn this reprehensible attempt to murder a police officer,” she added.
“We condemn outright the cowards responsible for this. These terrorists have nothing to offer and they must be brought to justice. We stand with the PSNI,” pro-UK Democratic Unionist Party leader Jeffrey Donaldson said.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted that he was “appalled by the disgraceful shooting” of the off-duty police officer in Omagh. – AFP, February 23, 2023
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