Police in Northern Ireland have said that violent dissident republicans are the primary focus of their investigation into the shooting of an off-duty police officer on Wednesday night. Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell, a well-known officer who has led investigations into murders, organised crime and dissident paramilitary groups, was critically injured when two masked men attacked him while he was coaching children’s football at a sports complex in Omagh.
The New IRA, a small armed nationalist group opposed to the 1998 Good Friday peace deal, is suspected of carrying out the attack. The gunmen continued to fire while Caldwell was on the ground and also fired on at least two other vehicles in the crowded car park, causing parents and children to run for safety. The suspects’ car was later found burned out just outside Omagh.
Politicians from across Ireland’s political divide and the leaders of the UK and Ireland have condemned the attack. Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill, Northern Ireland’s first minister designate and the deputy leader of the pro-Ireland party, called it “outrageous and shameful”. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted that he was “appalled by the disgraceful shooting”.
The 1998 Good Friday peace accord largely ended the conflict in Northern Ireland, known as “the Troubles”. Major Catholic and Protestant paramilitary groups gave up violence and disarmed, but small IRA splinter groups continue to mount sporadic attacks. The last time a police officer was shot in Northern Ireland was in 2017.
The UK last year lowered its Northern Ireland-related terrorism threat level for the first time in more than a decade. The threat from domestic groups was lowered to “substantial” from “severe”, according to an independent assessment by the MI5 domestic spy service. Police said at the time that operations against armed nationalists were making attacks less likely.
However, political 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. It is this tense atmosphere that has allowed for such an attack to take place, and authorities are now focused on bringing those responsible to justice.