Daniel Hegarty's family call for soldier's prosecution

Daniel was shot dead during Operation Motorman

The sister of a 15-year-old boy shot dead almost 40 years ago has said she wants the soldier responsible brought before the courts.

On Friday jurors at the inquest of Daniel Hegarty unanimously found that he posed no risk when he was shot twice in Londonderry during Operation Motorman in July 1972.

His cousin Christopher was wounded.

Daniel's sister Margaret Brady said she wanted the courts to tell the soldier he had committed a crime.

"Justice has been done, but at the end of the day this man should be prosecuted.

"I'm not out for revenge, I'm just out for the truth."

The family's solicitor, Des Doherty, said prosecutions were now a "definite possibility".

"The full rigour of the law has to be applied and it is now of course a matter for the coroner," the solicitor said.

"This case was not about vengeance. It was about justice."

The jury rejected claims that warnings had been shouted to the two teenagers before they were shot.

The operation was aimed at reclaiming "no go areas" in the city from the IRA.

Daniel, who was a labourer, was shot twice in the head by a soldier close to his home in Creggan. His cousin Christopher, 16, was shot in the head by the same soldier but survived.

The jury found that none of the soldiers present attempted to "approach the injured youths to either search them or provide medical assistance".

Mr Doherty said the record had now been "set straight".

This is the second inquest into Daniel's death.

In 1972 there were a number of "no go areas" for the British army in Derry

The initial inquest was held in 1973 and recorded an open verdict. A second inquest was ordered by the Attorney General in 2009 following an examination by the Historical Enquiries Team.

The report found that the RUC investigation at the time was "hopelessly inadequate and dreadful".

The inquest opened on Monday and heard from Daniel's sister Margaret Brady. She described how her mother continued to set a place for him at the table and call him for dinner for months after his death.

In 2007, the British government apologised to the Hegarty family after describing Daniel as a terrorist.