Lyra McKee: New IRA claim responsibility for Irish journalist's slaying

As police continue to piece together the senseless murder of young Irish journalist, Lyra McKee, members of the New IRA have justified the slaying as they claim responsibility.

کد خبر: ۸۹۳۸۹۳

تاریخ: ۰۳ ارديبهشت ۱۳۹۸ - ۰۹:۱۷

The 29-year-old investigative reporter was shot in the head during a riot in the city of Londonderry last Thursday night when a single gunman let fly a spray of bullets.

McKee was rushed to hospital in a police car but died of her injuries. Her murder comes 21 years after the Good Friday peace agreement was signed in Northern Ireland.

Two teenagers, both males aged 18 and 19, have been arrested under the Terrorism Act and taken in for questioning.

“The brutal nature of the attack has sent shockwaves around the world,” Police Service of Northern Ireland Detective Superintendent Jason Murphy told reporters.

“The shots were fired in a residential area at a time when there were large numbers of local people on the street including children. The gunman showed no thought for who may have been killed or injured when he fired these shots.”

In a statement to The Irish News overnight, the New IRA claimed responsibility for the attack.

“In the course of attacking the enemy Lyra McKee was tragically killed while standing beside enemy forces,” the statement, sent using a recognised codeword, said.

'Sincere apologies'

“The IRA offer our full and sincere apologies to the partner, family and friends of Lyra McKee for her death.”

The New IRA claimed it “deployed our volunteers to engage” in response to “heavily armed British crown forces” which “provoked rioting”.

The New IRA is a small group that rejects the 1998 Good Friday agreement that marked the Irish Republican Army's embrace of a political solution to the long-running violence known as "The Troubles" that had claimed more than 3,700 lives.

The group is also blamed for a Londonderry car bombing in January and has been linked to several other killings in the past decade.

The killing was condemned by all the major political parties as well as the prime ministers of Britain and Ireland.

The European Union's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, said the killing was "a reminder of how fragile peace still is in Northern Ireland" and called for work to preserve the Good Friday peace agreement.

A ‘hard border’

Some politicians believe uncertainty over Britain's impending departure from the EU and the possible re-introduction of a "hard border" between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are stoking tensions in the region.

Police have released CCTV video of a man suspected of firing the fatal shots in the hope the public would help identify him. More than 140 people have contacted police in response to the footage.

“My challenge is, how do I convert that community intelligence and information into raw evidence that allows me bring offenders to justice,” Detective Superintendent Murphy said.

“My appeal today to witnesses who haven’t come forward to us is simple. Please, come forward and have a conversation with me. Come and talk to me.

“I just need to speak to people to understand what they know.”

McKee rose to prominence in 2014 with a moving blog post — "Letter to my 14-year-old self" — describing the struggle of growing up gay in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland. She also had recently signed a contract to write two books.

Her partner, Sara Canning, told a vigil Friday that McKee's amazing potential had been snuffed out. Canning said the senseless murder "has left me without the love of my life, the woman I was planning to grow old with."