Machibet777 LiveOmagh police shooting: Top cop John Caldwell gunned down in front of own son while coaching football as three arrested | The Sun - Machibet Affiliate

A SENIOR police officer was gunned down in front of his own son while coaching young footballers.

Three men have been arrested after Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell was shot in Omagh, Northern Ireland, at around 8pm yesterday.

DCI Caldwell was gunned down as he coached footballCredit: PA

Police at the scene of the horror todayCredit: Pacemaker

He was blasted a "number of times" by masked gunmen in front of his son and the young people he was coaching as he loaded footballs into his car.

The shooter continued to fire at him after he fell to the ground while attempting to run away.

Police said children waiting to be picked up "ran for cover in sheer terror" as the gunmen opened fire.

One "brave" member of the public has been praised after rushing towards DCI Caldwell to administer first aid.

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Assistant Chief Constable Mark McEwan told BBC Radio Ulster: "The investigation is at an early stage, we are keeping an open mind. There are multiple strands to that investigation.

"The primary focus is on violent dissident republicans and within that there is a primary focus as well on New IRA."

DCI Caldwell most recently led the investigation for pregnant Natalie McNally's murder in December.

An attempted murder probe has been launched with political leaders in the UK and Ireland condemning the horror.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was appalled by the "disgraceful shooting of an off-duty police officer in Omagh".

While Irish premier Leo Varadkar condemned the "grotesque act of attempted murder".

Around 70 young people were at Youth Sport Omagh when the gun attack happened, local sources told Belfast Live.

There was a large police presence at the scene of the shooting, in the Killyclogher Road area of Omagh.

One horrified witness said they heard what sounded "like fireworks" as gunshots rang out.

Describing the incident, he told local site : "Then we realised that people were starting to shout and run away from it. And then somebody shouted that ‘he had a gun’.

“We started to run away from the track and up onto the pitches, and then we realised there was an injured party on the track.

“People began shouting: 'Can someone get an ambulance?'

“We could see that one person was down on the track, injured, And then he was getting attention from first aiders and the doctors. Then the ambulance came in about five minutes.

“There were wee kids on the pitch. It’s very shocking…Terrible.

“I thought we were past this.”

The shooting is a chilling echo of the Troubles.

The attack is the most serious on a police officer since the murder of Ronan Kerr, 25, in 2011 in Omagh.

He was killed by a bomb that had been attached under his car just outside his home.

Omagh was also the scene of a bombing carried out by dissident republicans on August 15, 1998, which killed 29 people.

The car bombing was the worst single atrocity of the Troubles.

It was perpetrated by a group calling themselves the Real Irish Republican Army, an IRA splinter group who opposed the ceasefire and the Good Friday Agreement.

What is the New IRA?

The New IRA is a violent paramilitary group based in Republican districts of west Belfast with some activity in Dublin.

It is formed of dissident Republicans who reject Northern Ireland’s peace process, which saw paramilitary groups decommission weapons in order to end The Troubles.

The IRA was disbanded after the decommissioning and has been inactive for several years but several groups have sprung up under the name.

In 2014, the New IRA sent failed devices to Army career offices in England and carried out a car bombing in Londonderry.

The New IRA was also behind an attack in 2016 when a prison officer died after a bomb exploded under his van in Belfast.

Condemnation of the attack was swift from other politicians across the communities in Northern Ireland.

Local Westminster MP Colum Eastwood MP also condemned the shooting.

"The brutal attack on a police officer in Omagh this evening is a chilling reminder of the horrifying violence that criminal gangs are willing to visit on the people of Northern Ireland," he said.

Sinn Fein vice president Michelle O'Neill described the shooting of the officer as "reprehensible".

ACC McEwan said: “The officer’s condition remains critical but stable. We are closely consulting with John Caldwell’s family, who are understandably shocked at last night’s shooting.

"John is a highly respected senior investigating officer who dedicates himself to service both in supporting victims and families in bringing others to justice. He is also an active member of the Omagh community.

“Last night at approximately 8pm at the youth sports centre in Killyclogher Road, Omagh, when John was putting footballs into the boot of the car, accompanied by his young son, two gunmen approached and we believe both have fired multiple shots.

"John ran a short distance and fell to the ground when the gunmen continued to fire shots at him.

“That shows the absolute callous nature of this attack, and it is utterly disgusting that the gunmen carried out this attempted murder in front of crowds of adults and children.

"John’s own young son was with him at the time and witnessed the shooting. The trauma inflicted on this young boy is just horrific and he will never forget seeing his dad shot multiple times.

“The gunmen fired from close range in the busy sports training area, which could also quite easily have killed or seriously injured children who were present at the time of the shooting.

“Those who carried out this attack were completely reckless in their actions and they had absolutely no regard for the officer who was injured or anyone in the crowd."