Omagh police attack: John Caldwell 'has suffered life-changing injuries'

Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell

An off-duty police officer who was shot multiple times in Omagh, County Tyrone, has suffered life-changing injuries, the chairman of Northern Ireland's Police Federation has said.

Det Ch Insp John Caldwell was shot by two gunmen after coaching children at football on Wednesday.

Police said he was with his son, putting balls in the boot of his car, when he was shot at about 20:00 GMT.

He remains in a critical but stable condition in hospital.

He had surgery on the night of the shooting and it is understood the 48-year-old underwent further surgery on Thursday.

Three men - aged 38, 45, and 47 - were arrested in Omagh and Coalisland, also in County Tyrone. They remain in custody.

A fourth man, aged 22, was arrested in the Coalisland area in the early hours of Friday morning, police later said.

Liam Kelly, the head of the federation, said Det Ch Insp Caldwell always wants to give back to society.

"He's been involved in coaching with children over a long period of time and this is how he's been rewarded by terrorists - it's an absolute disgrace," he added.

PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Mark McEwan said the investigation was looking at links to violent dissident republicans, with a focus on the New IRA.

But he said police were keeping an open mind and will continue to work against those with "callous disregard" for the community.

Political leaders including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris and Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar have condemned the shooting.

In Northern Ireland, senior politicians Michelle O'Neill, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, Naomi Long, Doug Beattie and Colum Eastwood issued a joint statement calling it a reprehensible attack by "the enemies of our peace".

They are expected to meet the PSNI's Chief Constable Simon Byrne on Friday to discuss the current threat level, Sinn Féin deputy leader Ms O'Neill said.

'Sheer terror'

Children at the Killyclogher Road sports complex ran in "sheer terror" when the shots rang out, ACC McEwan told a press conference.

"John was finishing up coaching an under-15 football team. He was accompanied by his young son," he said.

"Two gunmen appeared, fired multiple shots and John ran a short distance and, as he fell to the ground, gunmen continued to fire shots at him."

ACC McEwan paid tribute to a member of the public who administered first aid to the injured officer.

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"At this time there were many other children. Those children ran for cover in sheer terror."

BBC News NI understands that Det Ch Insp John Caldwell got up after being shot multiple times and warned children away from the area.

Chief Constable Simon Byrne said PSNI officers were shocked and angered by the brazen attack, and it had sent a "huge shockwave" across the organisation.

"John knows that his colleagues will now be working tirelessly around the clock to support his recovery but also to bring the offenders who have tried to kill him to swift justice," the chief constable said.

Who are dissident republicans?

The term "dissident republicans" describes a range of individuals who do not accept the Good Friday Agreement - the 1998 peace deal which ended the worst of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

The Provisional IRA - the main armed republican paramilitary group for most of the Troubles - declared a ceasefire in the run up to the agreement and officially ended its violent campaign in 2005.

Dissident republicanism is made up of various groups which broke away from the Provisional IRA in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, including the Continuity IRA and New IRA.

The groups are much smaller than the Provisional IRA, although they have access to high-calibre weapons and have used improvised explosive devices and mortars in attacks and attempted attacks.

They have continued to use violence to attempt to unite Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland in a single state but their activities have been sporadic and often undermined by the security services.

The New IRA is thought to be the largest and the most active of the armed groups that oppose the peace process in Northern Ireland.

Attacks, particularly attacks of this nature, are relatively rare.

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This car near a farmyard on the Racolpa Road outside Omagh is thought to have been used by the gunmen and was later burnt out

Northern Ireland officers work against "a backdrop of substantial threat" and the PSNI would do everything to support them, ACC McEwan added.

Border patrols

Police believe the gunmen made off in a small, dark car, which was found burnt out at Racolpa Road, outside Omagh.

An Garda Síochána (Irish police) said it had intensified patrolling in border counties.

The last gun attack on a PSNI officer was in January 2017. The PSNI officer was hit by automatic gunfire at a petrol station in north Belfast.

Forensics officers examine Det Ch Insp Caldwell's car at the sports complex where he was shot

'Sickened to the stomach'

Fifteen pupils from Omagh High School were at the sports complex at the time of the shooting, principal Christos Gaitatzis said.

Mr Gaitatzis said two pupils were beside Det Ch Insp Caldwell when he was shot and he was "sickened to the stomach" by the attack.

"Some pupils did not make it to school," he told the BBC's Talkback programme.

"It is very difficult as some of the children were next to the son of John and were helping him to get sports equipment out of the car. They saw everything."

The children had been left "numb" and it was very hard for them to comprehend what had happened, he added.

Beragh Swifts FC was holding a training session at Youth Sport Omagh when the gun attack happened.

Its chairman Ricky Lyons said that it was "hard to put into words" what the children had witnessed.

He said the children were being offered support and the Irish Football Association (IFA) had been in touch to offer counselling.

He said Det Ch Insp John Caldwell had been coaching at the centre for about 10 years.

"He was taking a kids training session - it's hard to compute that someone would try to attempt to kill John at that moment," he told BBC Evening Extra.

It is no surprise to learn the chief suspects in the attack are the New IRA.

After years on the backfoot the organisation re-emerged with a bomb attack on a police patrol in Strabane last November.

The attack on John Caldwell is the most serious incident involving the targeting of an officer for many years.

You probably need to go back to 2011 and the murder of Ronan Kerr for anything comparable.

Last night will be seen not only as an attack on a police officer but an officer who has been directly involved in investigating dissident republicans.

About a year ago, on the advice of MI5, the security threat level was downgraded for the first time in over a decade.

In that context, the shock being felt within the PSNI today will likely be magnified.