Thank you for joining our coverage of the latest developments in the shooting of DCI John Caldwell.

What has happened?

• DCI John Caldwell is heavily sedated and critically ill in hospital
• The off-duty police officer, one of the most senior in Northern Ireland, was shot in front of his son
• Four people have been arrested so far in connection with the attack on Wednesday
• Politicians from five main Stormont parties stood shoulder to shoulder with the police chief to condemn the attack
• PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne says there has been a "sheer sense of outrage at this pointless and senseless attack".
• Police cordons remain in place at the scene as officers continue to hunt for evidence

That may be the end of our minute-to-minute coverage but there's plenty more on this story on the BBC News NI website - read more on the main story here; go here for a profile of who the victim was; and here's a look at why police officers Northern Ireland can still find themselves targeted for attacks.

Gareth Gordon
BBC News NI Political Correspondent

If you want to know what 25 years of the Good Friday Agreement has achieved have a look - and a listen - to five parties standing side-by-side condemning the brutal attack on Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell.

We cannot know what - if anything - was in the minds of the terrorists who gunned him down in Omagh on Wednesday night.

But if any part of it was to say the agreement has not worked it may just have had the opposite effect.

Some context here. The people currently trying to organise events to mark the accord's 25th birthday do so in the knowledge that the prospect of the cake being iced may be fading.

Image source, PA Media

In other words the big prize of restoring devolution at Stormont in time for the big day may be slipping from their grasp unless the gloom around a potential deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol lifts soonish.

But while there is no doubt politics - and the stop/start nature of Stormont - has been the big failure of the past 25 years, the attempted murder of John Caldwell has given our feuding politicians the opportunity to show they remain united against attempts to drag Northern Ireland back into violence.

One-by-one they delivered the required soundbites.

It could take a number of months for some of the young people who witnessed Wednesday night’s shooting to process the trauma, a child psychotherapist says.

Ciara McElhinney, of Trauma NI, says the young footballers will be processing “severe trauma”.

That may lead some to become disconnected and withdrawn, she tells BBC Radio Foyle.

“The disconnection is because the child has been through trauma.

“The child cant process that, it takes three months to process something so severe. How can an adult process that never mind a young person? Their brains are only growing, developing.”

It is important that parents “let them know it is ok,” she says.

“Don’t ask too many questions, just be available, that is all we can do for young people at the minute.”

Former police officer Peter Sheridan says many officers will be concerned about their personal safety after the shooting but there will also be “resilience”.

“The conflict of the past told us that people don’t buckle down under this," he explains.

“People don’t get terrorised in the way that terrorists think that they will be intimidated or threatened by it.”

Mr Sheridan adds the level of threat could create more of a “comradeship” within the police service.

Mr Sheridan is now chief executive of Co-operation Ireland, a charity dedicated to peace and reconciliation.

He says that the political vacuum is not an excuse for violence.

“The rest of us know that politics isn’t in place and we weren’t out shooting people last night.

“Sometimes politics is working, sometimes it isn’t, but it is not an excuse where it creates a vacuum that somehow people who use extreme violence think it’s their turn to fill it.”

The chief constable says he spoke to An Garda Síochana (Irish police) Commissioner Drew Harris yesterday.

Commissioner Harris is a former PSNI Deputy Chief Constable and knows DCI Caldwell from his previous role.

Simon Byrne says gardaí have stepped up patrols in border communities and police across the island are committed to ensuring those responsible for the attack are brought to justice.

The chief constable raises concerns about the future of effective policing in light of budgetary issues.

Simon Byrne says the PSNI has enough people to continue the “pace and momentum” of the investigation as it stands.

However, if issues are not addressed in a years’ time, he says he is concerned about the capability to keep up pressure against terrorist organisations and keeping communities safe.

Chief Constable Simon Byrne says DCI Caldwell's family wants to thank those who administered first aid at the scene of the shooting.

They also say they appreciate "outpouring of support from across the community in relation to this awful outrage".

He provided an update on the police investigation a short time ago.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood says he stands in solidarity with each PSNI officer on duty today.

"The people standing here are the representatives of the people," he tells the news conference alongside the chief constable.

Mr Eastwood says those responsible for the shooting "represent nobody" and will "achieve nothing".

"They think they're at war with the British state - they are at war with the people of Ireland.

"That's a battle they will never, ever win."

UUP leader Doug Beattie says those trying to undermine peace on the island of Ireland would fail.

"The attack on John Caldwell was an attack on a husband, it was an attack on a father, it was an attack on the community of Omagh, it was an attack on our society," he says.

"It's an attack on our children, it's an attack on our peace - our hard-won peace - and it's an attack on the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.

"But it will not work because we do stand united."

Alliance MP Stephen Farry says politicians stand “shoulder-to-shoulder” with the chief constable and all PSNI officers following Wednesday's shooting.

He adds all five parties are “utterly united” in rejecting terrorism.

“That is the only foundation in which this society can work," he adds.

Mr Farry says those responsible will be brought to justice and resources needed to do the job will be given.

Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O’Neill says the shooting of DCI Caldwell is not just an attack on police, but an attack on everyone.

“It is so important in moments like this that we stand united and we do stand here united as one voice in our condemnation against this horrific attack on a police officer."

Ms O’Neill says her thoughts are with the family, including DCI Caldwell’s son who witnessed the attack on his father.

"This year we celebrate 25 years of the Good Friday Agreement and so much that’s been achieved over those last 25 years," she continues.

"Our society has been completely transformed and we are not going to allow anybody to reverse any of that progress."

Ms O'Neill adds: "That’s why its very important that we do put across today that this is an attack on the community, this is an attack all of us and an attack that none of us will ever tolerate."

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, whose cousin Samuel, an RUC officer, was murdered by the IRA in 1970, extends his thoughts and prayers to John Caldwell and his family.

“We all stand with you, you have our continued support,” he says.

“Words are good, we also need to ensure PSNI has the resource it needs to carry out its work effectively.

“We will work together as parties, engaging with the government to ensure that that resource is made available to the chief constable and to the PSNI and we hope to have the opportunity to do that in the coming days.”

He continues: “I would also say to the evil people who carried out this heinous attack and to their organisation: ‘You are not the future of this place. We stand against you.’

“The murder of police officers and the attempted killing of those who serve our communities in Northern Ireland was unacceptable when my cousin was the first RUC officer to be murdered by the IRA in 1970.

“Loyalists have also killed officers, it was never acceptable, it is not acceptable now."

PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne says the family of DCI John Caldwell have been left "heavily affected" by the shooting.

The senior officer remains critically ill and is sedated, he tells a news conference.

Mr Byrne says he spoke to the officer's family last night.

He adds it is a significant show of solidarity that he stands alongside political leaders from Stormont's main political parties.

He says there has been a "sheer sense of outrage at this pointless and senseless attack".

The chief constable has been joined at the news conference by Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Féin), Sir Jeffrey Donaldson (Democratic and Unionist Party), Stephen Farry (Alliance Party), Doug Beattie (Ulster Unionist Party) and Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic and Labour Party).

An Garda Síochána (Irish police) continue to work closely after the shooting, a spokesperson said.

Gardaí previously said it had intensified patrolling in border counties following the attack on Wednesday.

They added they will provide the PSNI with any assistance as required as the investigation continues.

A police cordon remains in place at the Youth Sport complex in Omagh, County Tyrone, this morning.

Two gunmen shot John Caldwell several times as he was putting footballs into his car with his son after an under-15 training session on Wednesday night.

Officers are also still at the scene of where a car, believed to have been used in the attack, was found on the Racolpa Road, outside Omagh.

PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne and politicians from Northern Ireland's main parties are expected to hold a news conference shortly.

Please follow the link at the top of this page to watch live as it happens.

A spokesperson said the US State Department strongly condemns the attempted murder of Det Ch Insp Caldwell.

Ned Price made the comments during the department's press briefing on Thursday.

A rally to condemn the attack will be held at Omagh’s courthouse on Saturday morning.

It will take place on High Street at 11:30 GMT close to where 29 people died in a Real IRA bombing in 1998 known as the single biggest atrocity in Northern Ireland’s Troubles.

Omagh Trades Council secretary Anton McCabe says Wednesday’s attack has reawakened the trauma of people in the town.

“In Omagh, there is a good history of reacting to such events as one community,” he tells BBC Radio’s Good Morning Ulster programme.

“What has happened has reawakened hurts in many people, the traumas from those past events.

“[The rally will] express the community's feelings, but reject any attempt or move to send us back to the past.”

Image source, Beragh Swifts

Meanwhile, Beragh Swifts Football Club has announced a Walk of Solidarity to be held at 10:30 from the team's clubhouse on Saturday.

It has asked attendees to wear the club's colours.

Ulster Herald journalist Alan Rodgers says people in Omagh have been deeply affected by the shooting.

“There is a degree of fear in relation to all of this, especially for those that were there. There is a certain degree of doubt in relation to who carried out the attack,” he continues.

“A number of people who I was hoping would speak to me on the record were afraid to do that because of what they saw as the potential consequences about going out and speaking publicly about it.

“It is very hard to combat that but it proves I believe the sense of devastation, shock and trauma that is coming from us”.

Irish Football Association (IFA) President Conrad Kirkwood expresses his shock and outrage at Wednesday’s shooting.

“We talk about football for all, it’s where people should be brought together, on football pitches, watching, coaching, playing, and they should be safe places,” he explains.

Mr Kirkwood says he received a message from John Caldwell earlier in the week about hosting a ‘football for all’ seminar at his own club.

“This is a guy who, despite having a busy day job, is absolutely invested… in trying to make things better, it makes it even more tragic.”

Mr Kirkwood added football has the opportunity to bring people with different views together, and society has moved on “exponentially” making the news even more shocking.