Northern Ireland police treating attack on John Caldwell as terrorist-related, New IRA suspected

A senior Northern Ireland police officer who was shot on Wednesday night by two masked individuals while coaching football to children is in a critical, but stable conditionat the hospital. Police are looking at links to the case with the violent New Irish Republican Army (New IRA), one of the groups which opposed the 1998 peace agreement in Northern Ireland.

Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell was shot at a sports complex in Omagh, roughly 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of Belfast. The suspected IRA group has previously attacked police and was involved in the 2019 murder of journalist Lyra McKee.

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“The investigation is at an early stage, we are keeping an open mind. There are multiple strands to that investigation,” Assistant Chief Constable Mark McEwan reportedly said. “The primary focus is on violent dissident republicans and within that, there is a primary focus as well on New IRA.”

The shooters continued to fire while the now injured police officer was lying on the ground to save himself, according to McEwan. In a packed parking lot, where parents and kids fled for safety, the shooters also opened fire on at least two more vehicles, he said.

Meanwhile, just outside Omagh, the suspects' burned-out vehicle was subsequently discovered.

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In relation to Caldwell's attempted murder, three individuals, aged 38, 45, and 47, were detained, according to Northern Ireland police head Simon Byrne. In Northern Ireland, a police officer was last shot in 2017. The incident on Wednesday was denounced by politicians from all sides of Ireland's political spectrum as well as by the governments of the UK and Ireland.

In a tweet, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak termed the attack "appalling."During the three decades of conflict in Northern Ireland between British loyalist paramilitaries and Irish republican, as well as UK security forces, more than 3,000 people were slain. The "Troubles" was mostly resolved by the Good Friday peace treaty in 1998.

(With inputs from agencies)

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