Ballymurphy inquest: Soldier 'deliberately' fired into crowd

Edward Doherty - pictured with his youngest son - was shot dead in August 1971

A man has told the Ballymurphy inquest he recalls watching a soldier aim and fire his weapon deliberately during an incident where a man was shot and killed.

Edward Doherty, 31 and a father of four, died on 10 August 1971 near Brittons Parade on the Whiterock Road.

A barricade had been put across the road following the introduction of internment.

Soldiers were attempting to clear it with a digger.

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Witness C5 said some people in a crowd were rioting, throwing stones and the occasional petrol bomb.

He had been granted anonymity by the court, but gave evidence without screening from the public gallery.

One soldier, M3, has previously told the inquest he was driving the digger and was trying to clear the obstacle.

He testified that he fired his weapon through the open door of his vehicle at a petrol bomber close to the barricade who he believed was threatening his life.

He did accept in court during his evidence last year that he might have missed the person he was aiming at and hit another person instead.

The inquest is examining the deaths of 10 people in Ballymurphy in 1971

Witness C5 has now told the court he had gone out to buy cigarettes and had gone to see why a crowd of people had gathered.

He said he saw a man, he now believes to be Eddie Doherty, some distance away behind the barricade, before and after he was shot.

C5 was certain that Mr Doherty had not been holding or throwing anything, or was involved in the rioting.

Several other witnesses have also said that Mr Doherty was not throwing anything.

The court has previously heard that he was passing through the area trying to make his way home.

Relatives of the victims have long campaigned for the truth about their loved ones' killings

Mr Doherty was the only person to be shot and killed in the immediate area at the time.

C5 went on to say that the soldier driving the digger climbed out onto the footplate of his vehicle, knelt on the footplate, and took aim very deliberately, before firing.

C5 said he could not understand why the soldier had done so.

He said he saw Mr Doherty after he fell, with blood on his clothes, and being helped by the people around him.

C5 told the inquest he left that area of Belfast soon afterwards and had not returned in the intervening years.

He had been aware of the Ballymurphy inquest, he said, but had not realised the incident he witnessed was part of it.

'Sectioned'

He said he genuinely did not consider the location of the shooting to be in the Ballymurphy area, and had not thought he had any evidence to offer to the inquest.

It was only when talking to some acquaintances recently that he was encouraged to contact the coroner earlier this year.

He agreed to provide the names of those acquaintances to the coroner.

C5 also said he had taken care not to research anything about the Ballymurphy shootings before he came to testify.

Earlier the court had heard that a former soldier called to give evidence in June of this year had since been "sectioned".

M151 had given evidence briefly by video link before his testimony was halted.

His current condition was mentioned by a barrister during legal argument about applications by several other soldiers for medical excusal from the inquest.

C5's evidence is due to continue tomorrow.