Lyra McKee shooting: Police find murder weapon
June 11, 2020
Northern Irish police said Thursday they have recovered the gun used to kill journalist Lyra McKee in the city of Derry, or Londonderry, last year. They also said they know the identity of the gunman.
Police say they hope forensic evidence will help them charge the gunman in question.
One man has so far been charged with the murder. The man who fired the shot that killed McKee remains at large, police say.
"I know who was involved. I know who the gunman is. The New IRA should not mistake a sensitive and quietly conducted investigation with one that lacks determination and energy," Detective Superintendent Jason Murphy said in a statement.
The New IRA is one of a small number of groups that opposes the 1998 Good Friday peace deal that largely brought an end to 30 years of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland, a part of the UK.
Read more: Northern Ireland's New IRA: What is it?
'Expect police at the door'
The group said that one of its members shot the 29-year-old reporter dead when they opened fire in the direction of police during a riot McKee was observing.
"As the net gradually tightens, those who fired the gun, transported it, moved it, stored it, carried it, hid it or interacted with it in any way, should expect the police at their door," Murphy added.
The gun, a Hämmerli X-esse pistol, was found with a quantity of ammunition and a bomb in a neighborhood near Creggan — the Derry housing estate where McKee was shot in the head.
The New IRA offered "sincere apologies" for McKee's death at the time.
"In the course of attacking the enemy, Lyra McKee was tragically killed while standing beside enemy forces," the New IRA had said after the shooting, a reference to McKee standing close to a police riot vehicle at the time, claiming that they had not intended to shoot her. "The IRA offer our full and sincere apologies to the partner, family and friends of Lyra McKee for her death."
Up-and-coming journalist
At the time of her murder, Northern Ireland's devolved parliament had been suspended since January 2017 after a breakdown of trust between rival political parties.
The power-sharing assembly in Belfast was created in 1998 after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. McKee's death led to calls for politicians to agree to restore the legislature.
McKee wrote about growing up gay in Northern Ireland as well as chronicling the experiences of the "cease-fire babies," the generation raised after the 1998 peace deal.
McKee was an advocate for LGBT rights and was recognized as a rising star in journalism, having landed a spot on Forbes Magazine's "30 under 30 in media" list in 2016.
"Such a warm and innocent heart, she was the greatest listener, someone who had time for everyone," her family said in a statement. "She was a smart, strong-minded woman who believed passionately in inclusivity, justice and truth."
ed/msh (AFP, Reuters)
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