Shooting of John Caldwell

Last updated

Shooting of John Caldwell
Location Omagh, Northern Ireland
Date22 February 2023
TargetJohn Caldwell
Attack type
Shooting
Injured1
Perpetrators New Irish Republican Army (suspected)

On the evening of 22 February 2023, two gunmen shot off-duty Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell of the Police Service of Northern Ireland in Omagh, Northern Ireland. The gunmen are believed to have been linked to the New Irish Republican Army. [1] [2] Fifteen people have been arrested in connection with the shooting. [3] On 26 May 2023, seven men were charged with attempted murder. [4] The men range in age from 28 to 72 and appeared by videolink at Dungannon Magistrates Court on 29 May 2023. [5]

Contents

Background

Caldwell is known in part for investigating high-profile murder incidents, including the murder of Ronan Kerr and the death of Lyra McKee. He has received multiple death threats in the past. [6] He was 48 years old at the time of the shooting. [7]

Events

John Caldwell coached an under-15s football team at the Youth Sports complex in Omagh. At 20:00, following a practice session, Caldwell was loading footballs into his car with his son. Two men approached and opened fire. Caldwell fled, but was hit and fell, with the gunmen continuing to fire at him. According to police, the children fled in "sheer terror". [8]

The gunmen fled in a small car, which was later found burnt out, outside Omagh by police. [9]

A member of the public administered first aid. Caldwell was then taken to Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry and underwent two surgeries. He suffered life-changing injuries. [10] [11]

Reactions

The attack was condemned by several political leaders including UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. [9]

Related Research Articles

The Real Irish Republican Army, or Real IRA (RIRA), was a dissident Irish republican paramilitary group that aimed to bring about a United Ireland. It was formed in 1997 following a split in the Provisional IRA by dissident members, who rejected the IRA's ceasefire that year. Like the Provisional IRA before it, the Real IRA saw itself as the only rightful successor to the original Irish Republican Army and styled itself as simply "the Irish Republican Army" in English or Óglaigh na hÉireann in Irish. It was an illegal organisation in the Republic of Ireland and designated as a proscribed terrorist organisation in the United Kingdom and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Omagh bombing</span> 1998 car bombing in Northern Ireland by the Real IRA

The Omagh bombing was a car bombing on 15 August 1998 in the town of Omagh in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It was carried out by the Real Irish Republican Army, a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) splinter group who opposed the IRA's ceasefire and the Good Friday Agreement, signed earlier in the year. The bombing killed 29 people and injured about 220 others, making it the deadliest single incident of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Telephoned warnings which did not specify the actual location had been sent almost forty minutes beforehand but police inadvertently moved people toward the bomb.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuala O'Loan, Baroness O'Loan</span> Public figure in Northern Ireland, Police Ombudsman and parliamentarian

Nuala Patricia O'Loan, Baroness O'Loan,, is a public figure in Northern Ireland. From 1999 to 2007, she was the first Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland. In July 2009, it was announced that she was to be appointed to the House of Lords and she was so appointed in September 2009. In December 2010, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, appointed her as the chairman of its governing authority. She is a columnist with The Irish Catholic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loughinisland massacre</span> 1994 mass shooting of a pub in Loughinisland, Northern Ireland during the Troubles

The Loughinisland massacre took place on 18 June 1994 in the small village of Loughinisland, County Down, Northern Ireland. Members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group, burst into a pub with assault rifles and fired on the customers, killing six civilians and wounding five. The pub was targeted because it was frequented mainly by Catholics, and was crowded with people watching the Republic of Ireland play against Italy in the 1994 FIFA World Cup. It is thus sometimes called the "World Cup massacre". The UVF claimed the attack was retaliation for the killing of three UVF members by the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA).

This is a chronology of activities by the Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA), an Irish republican paramilitary group. The group started operations in 1994, after the Provisional Irish Republican Army began a ceasefire.

The Massereene Barracks shooting took place at Massereene Barracks in Antrim, Northern Ireland. On 7 March 2009, two off-duty British soldiers of 38 Engineer Regiment were shot dead outside the barracks. Two other soldiers and two civilian delivery men were also shot and wounded during the attack. A dissident Irish republican paramilitary group, the Real IRA, claimed responsibility.

Colin Duffy is an Irish republican, described by the BBC as the most recognisable name and face among dissident republicans in Northern Ireland. He was cleared of murder charges in three court cases involving police and army killings.

This is a timeline of actions by the Irish republican paramilitary groups referred to as the Real Irish Republican Army and New Irish Republican Army. The Real IRA was formed in 1997 by disaffected members of the Provisional IRA. Since July 2012, when Republican Action Against Drugs (RAAD) and other small republican groups merged with it, the group has been called the New IRA; although it continues to call itself simply "the Irish Republican Army".

Republican Action Against Drugs (RAAD) was an Irish republican vigilante group active mainly in Derry and the surrounding area, including parts of counties Londonderry and Tyrone in Northern Ireland, and parts of County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. It targeted those who it claimed were drug dealers. The group's methods included shooting the alleged dealers in the arms and legs ; pipe bomb or arson attacks on the property of alleged dealers; and warning, threatening or banishing the alleged dealers.

The National Surveillance Unit (NSU) is the principal clandestine intelligence gathering and surveillance operations unit of the Garda Síochána, the national police force of Ireland. The unit operates under the Crime & Security Branch (CSB), based at Garda Headquarters in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, and also works from Harcourt Street, Dublin. Members of the unit are specially trained and selected Detective Gardaí who are tasked to remain covert whilst on and off duty, tracking suspected criminals, terrorists and hostile, foreign spies operating in Ireland. The unit's detectives are routinely armed. The National Surveillance Unit is understood to possess a manpower of approximately 100 officers, and is considered to be the most secretive arm of the force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Óglaigh na hÉireann (Real IRA splinter group)</span> 2009–2018 Irish republican paramilitary group

Óglaigh na hÉireann is a small dissident Irish republican paramilitary group that took part in the dissident Irish Republican campaign. The organisation started carrying out attacks around 2009 and was formed after a split within the Real IRA, led by Seamus McGrane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dissident Irish republican campaign</span> 1998–present insurgency in Northern Ireland by republicans opposed to the Good Friday Agreement

The dissident Irish republican campaign began at the end of the Troubles, a 30-year political conflict in Northern Ireland. Since the Provisional Irish Republican Army called a ceasefire and ended its campaign in 1997, breakaway groups opposed to the ceasefire and to the peace agreements have continued a low-level armed campaign against the security forces in Northern Ireland. The main paramilitaries involved are the Real IRA, Continuity IRA and formerly Óglaigh na hÉireann. They have targeted the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the British Army in gun and bomb attacks as well as with mortars and rockets. They have also carried out bombings that are meant to cause disruption. However, their campaign has not been as intensive as the Provisional IRA's, and political support for groups such as the Real IRA is "tending towards zero".

Ronan Kerr was a Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officer killed by a booby-trap car bomb planted outside his home on 2 April 2011 at Highfield Close, just off the Gortin Road, near Killyclogher on the northern outskirts of Omagh in County Tyrone. Responsibility for the attack was later claimed by a dissident republican group claiming to be made of former members of the Provisional IRA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Boreland</span> Northern Irish footballer and loyalist activist

William John Boreland was a Northern Irish footballer and loyalist activist. He came to prominence in the early years of the 21st century when he served as leader of the North Belfast Brigade of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and, as such, one of the six commanders of the movement as a whole. Boreland was killed in a shooting at his Belfast home in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Adrian Donohoe</span> Irish police officer murdered during an armed robbery in 2013

Adrian Donohoe was an Irish detective in the Garda Síochána based at Dundalk Garda Station in County Louth, who was fatally shot in Bellurgan on 25 January 2013 during a robbery by an armed gang of five people on a credit union. He was the first garda officer to be murdered in the line of duty since 1996, and was afforded a full state funeral.

Stephen Carroll was a Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officer who was killed by the Continuity IRA on 9 March 2009 in Craigavon, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Carroll's killing marked the first time a serving police officer had been killed since the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

The 2005 Belfast riots were serious loyalist riots and civil disturbances in Belfast, Northern Ireland in September 2005. The violence broke out after the Protestant Orange Order Whiterock parade was re-routed to avoid the Irish nationalist Springfield Road area. Clashes also broke out in several towns in County Antrim. The incidents took place amid a fierce feud between members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF), who are also thought to have orchestrated the riots.

Malcolm McKeown was an Ulster loyalist paramilitary during The Troubles in Northern Ireland, and later an organised crime figure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Irish Republican Army</span> Irish Republican armed group formed in 2012

The New Irish Republican Army, or New IRA, is an Irish republican paramilitary group. It is a continuation of the Real Irish Republican Army, which began to be called the 'New IRA' in July 2012 when Republican Action Against Drugs (RAAD) and other small republican militant groups merged with it. The group calls itself simply "the Irish Republican Army". The New IRA has launched many attacks against the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the British Army. It is the largest and most active of the "dissident republican" paramilitary groups waging a campaign against the British security forces in Northern Ireland.

Events from the year 2023 in Northern Ireland.

References

  1. Harte, Lauren (23 February 2023). "Three men arrested on suspicion of attempted murder of PSNI officer". BelfastLive. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  2. Pogatchnik, Shawn (23 February 2023). "Northern Ireland's political leaders condemn shooting of Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell". POLITICO. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  3. "John Caldwell: Two men arrested over shooting of police officer". BBC News. 30 March 2023. Archived from the original on 30 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  4. "John Caldwell: Seven men charged with attempted murder". BBC News. 27 May 2023. Archived from the original on 27 May 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  5. Connolly, Grainne (29 May 2023). "John Caldwell: Seven in court over attempted murder of detective". BBC News. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  6. Wilson, David (23 February 2023). "Omagh police shooting: Who is PSNI detective John Caldwell?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  7. Carroll, Rory; Grierson, Jamie (24 February 2023). "Police officer shot in Omagh ambush 'fighting for his life'". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  8. Page, Chris (23 February 2023). "Omagh police shooting: Disturbing echoes of past in John Caldwell attack". BBC News. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  9. 1 2 "Omagh police shooting: Three arrested over John Caldwell attack". BBC News. 23 February 2023. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  10. "Omagh shooting: PSNI officer fighting for life as three arrested after shooting". BBC News. 23 February 2023. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  11. "John Caldwell: Detective shot in dissident republican attack leaves hospital". BBC News. 20 April 2023. Archived from the original on 11 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.