Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell. Photo / AP
Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell. Photo / AP
A senior police detective was shot multiple times in front of his son at a football training session, his force said yesterday as three men were arrested under terror legislation.
Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell was gunned down on Wednesday night at a sports complex in Omagh, Northern Ireland. Investigatorshave now arrested three men aged 38, 45 and 47 under the Terrorism Act in connection with the attempted murder.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said it was keeping an “open mind” as to the motive behind the attack, but said its “primary focus” was on violent dissident republicans and the New IRA.
Children waiting to be picked up by their parents “ran for cover in sheer terror” as the shooting began, police said.
Caldwell remains in critical condition in the hospital after suffering wounds to his torso.
The head teacher at Omagh High School, where Caldwell was a former pupil, said a some students who witnessed the attack were “experiencing a huge degree of trauma”.
Caldwell had been putting footballs in the boot of his car when two gunmen approached and began shooting. He tried to flee but fell to the ground where the gunmen continued to fire at him.
A “brave” member of the public was praised by police for rushing in and providing first aid after the attack.
It is thought one of the men arrested is a prominent republican dissident.
Police were last night searching a house 3km from the scene where one of the three suspects was staying.
The sports complex where off-duty Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell was shot. Photo / AP
Detectives from a tactical support unit were joined by forensic officers in white suits who were seen looking under the bonnet of a white Vauxhall van outside the house, where a white Audi A4 was also parked outside.
The windows had been smashed after officers had earlier forced entry.
Caldwell is a high-profile officer who has led major investigations, including taking a leading role in the murder case following the killing of Natalie McNally in Lurgan in December. He was also involved in the investigation into the murder of journalist Lyra McKee in 2019.
Assistant Chief Constable Mark McEwan said: “John’s young son was with him at the time and witnessed the shooting. The trauma inflicted on this young boy is just horrific and he will never forget seeing his dad shot multiple times.”
“The gunmen fired from close range in the busy sports training area, which could also quite easily have killed or seriously injured children who were present at the time of the shooting.”
He added: “The investigation is at an early stage, we are keeping an open mind. There are multiple strands to that investigation.”
“The primary focus is on violent dissident republicans and within that there is a primary focus as well on New IRA.”
Baroness Nuala O’Loan, the former police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, said the attack brought back memories of the darkest days of sectarian violence during the Troubles.
Speaking on Radio 4′s Today programme, she said: “We had hoped we saw these things in the past, we had hoped they would never happen again and we know the children ... they’ll carry the scar with them, it’s not something they will ever forget.”
Christos Gaitatzis, the principal at Omagh High School, told the Daily Telegraph: “When they attacked John, for whatever reason, they also attacked our school community because there were so many children involved in that training session that John was coaching.”
Gaitatzis said Caldwell regularly ran the Wednesday-evening session and he was “very popular”. “We had pupils who were next to John Caldwell when he was shot and therefore those children are experiencing a huge degree of trauma.”
Northern Ireland’s political leaders issued a joint statement condemning the shooting.
Michelle O’Neill, Sinn Fein vice-president, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, leader of the DUP, Naomi Long, Alliance leader, Doug Beattie, the UUP leader and Colum Eastwood, SDLP leader, said they stood united in outright condemnation of the attack.
“We speak for the overwhelming majority of people right across our community who are outraged and sickened by this reprehensible and callous attempted murder,” they said.”
“The community of Omagh has endured profound suffering, loss, and pain in the past which has left a deep trauma, and so this act of violence has left people there rightly angered”.
Omagh has seen significant dissident violence in the past, including a Real IRA bomb attack in 1998 that killed 29 people. It was also where Constable Ronan Kerr was murdered in April 2011.
