Wounded man pretended he was dead on Bloody Sunday, trial hears

Soldier F is accused of murdering James Wray (left) and William McKinney

Two men wounded on Bloody Sunday in Londonderry in 1972 have been giving evidence at the trial of a former British Army soldier known as Soldier F.

Joe Mahon, who was 16 at the time of the shootings, told of how he saw one soldier "firing from the hip" as he entered Glenfada Park North in Derry.

Mr Mahon said he was struck and fell – at first believing he was hit by a rubber bullet.

Pretending to be dead, he then described seeing a soldier walk past another person lying on the ground, James Wray, and firing two shots into him.

Soldier F, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is accused of the murders of Mr Wray, 22, and William McKinney, 26.

They were among 13 people who were shot dead by the Parachute Regiment at a civil rights demonstration in the Bogside area of Derry on 30 January, 1972.

He is further accused of five counts of attempted murder, including that of Mr Mahon.

He is on trial at Belfast Crown Court and denies all the charges.

Mr Mahon recalled attending the civil rights protest and, when trouble broke out, seeking refuge in Glenfada Park North with a group of about 40 others.

"We classed it as being a safe area," he said.

"The Army never came in to Glenfada Park."

He then described paratroopers coming into the courtyard, with the first soldier opening fire with his rifle.

Mr Mahon told the court three or four soldiers had entered the courtyard of Glenfada Park.

The first soldier he saw, the witness said, had a "rifle under his arm hanging down" before he raised it up and started "firing from the hip".

Mr Mahon told the court the fire as "fan-like, moving from side to side".

'Lie still, pretend you are dead'

"I found myself on the ground," he said.

"I thought I was hit by a rubber bullet.

"I know it might sound stupid or funny because when you see someone shot on TV they are rolling about in pain but I wasn't that way.

"I heard a voice beside me, there was a gentleman to my right lying on the road, he said: 'I am hit son, I am hit'."

Mr Mahon said he later found out it was Mr McKinney.

He said he recalled a soldier walking past him and then firing two shots into Mr Wray after he moved on the ground.

"He walked past me and Mr McKinney and before he did come across, I heard a voice, a woman saying, 'Lie still, pretend you are dead'.

"He walked past us... as he approached Mr Wray, he fired two shots into him."

The court heard that, a short time after, Mr Mahon saw the soldier kneel in the middle of the square as "he aimed his rifle at me".

"After what happened to Jim Wray, I expected the same," Mr Mahon added.

"I turned my head waiting to be shot and I heard a voice shouting: 'First aid, don't shoot'."

At one point, while giving his evidence, he became emotional while looking at photos and wiped his eyes with a handkerchief.

'I was looking at the rifle'

Another victim, Joseph Friel, who was 20 at the time, also testified.

During a lull in shooting, he tried to run out of Glenfada Park North, and saw a soldier firing from a rifle at his hip, he told the court.

"He was the only one firing," Mr Friel said.

"I was not looking at the soldier's face, I was looking at the rifle."

He told the court the soldier fired two or three shots, one of which hit him in the chest.

"I felt a thud and I was coughing up blood," he said.

The court heard that, after collapsing, he was taken into a house where his wound was dressed before going to hospital.

"When you see someone trying to murder you, you do not forget," he added.

The trial continues.

Who is Soldier F?

Soldier F is a former British soldier who served with the Army's Parachute Regiment in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

He cannot be named due to an interim court order granting his anonymity.

The decision to charge Soldier F was taken by the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) in 2019.

He was one of 18 former soldiers reported to the PPS as a result of a police investigation, which followed the public inquiry into Bloody Sunday conducted by Lord Saville.

But he was the only one charged.

Two years later, the PPS dropped the case after the collapse of the trial of two other veterans who had been accused of a 1972 murder in Belfast.

But the prosecution resumed in 2022 after a legal challenge.