On the evening of 22 February 2023, two gunmen shot and wounded off-duty Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell of the

Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ; Ulster-Scots: '), is the police service responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it ...

Omagh Omagh (; from , meaning 'the virgin plain') is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers River Drumragh, Drumragh and Camowen River, Camowen meet to form the River Strule, Strule. Northern Ireland's c ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. The gunmen are believed to have been linked to the

New Irish Republican Army The New Irish Republican Army, or New IRA, is an Irish republican paramilitary group. It is a continuation of the Real Irish Republican Army (Real IRA), which began to be called the 'New IRA' in July 2012 when Republican Action Against Drugs ...

. Fifteen people were detained in connection with the shooting, and by February 2024, eleven people had been charged in connection with the shooting, eight of whom with

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seve ...

Background

Caldwell is known in part for investigating high-profile murder incidents, including the

murder of Ronan Kerr Ronan Kerr was a Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officer killed by a booby-trap car bomb planted outside his home on 2 April 2011 at Highfield Close, just off the Gortin Road (the B48), near Killyclogher on the northern outskirts of O ...

and the death of

Lyra McKee Lyra Catherine McKee ( 31 March 1990 – 18 April 2019) was a journalist from Northern Ireland who wrote for several publications about the consequences of the Troubles. She also served as an editor for Mediagazer, a news aggregator website. On ...

. He has received multiple death threats in the past. He was 48 years old at the time of the shooting.

Events

John Caldwell coached an under-15s football team at the Youth Sports complex in Omagh. At 20:00, following a practice session, Caldwell was loading footballs into his car with his son. Two men approached and opened fire. Caldwell fled, but was hit and fell, with the gunmen continuing to fire at him. According to police, the children fled in "sheer terror". The gunmen fled in a small car, which was later found burnt out, outside Omagh by police. A member of the public administered

first aid First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with a medical emergency, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery until medical services arrive. First aid is gener ...

. Caldwell was then taken to

Altnagelvin Hospital Altnagelvin Area Hospital is the main hospital for the North West of Northern Ireland. It is located in Waterside, Derry. It provides services to the city of Derry and County Londonderry, but also some specialist and acute services for parts of n ...

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

and underwent two surgeries. He suffered life-changing injuries. The attack was condemned by several political leaders including UK Prime Minister

Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2022 to 2024. Following his defeat to Keir Starmer's La ...

, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Chris Heaton-Harris Christopher Heaton-Harris (born 28 November 1967) is a British former politician who served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from September 2022 to July 2024, and as Chief Whip of the House of Commons and Parliament ...

and Taoiseach

Leo Varadkar Leo Eric Varadkar ( ; born 18 January 1979) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2017 to 2020 and from 2022 to 2024, as Tánaiste from 2020 to 2022, and as leader of Fine Gael from 2017 to 2024. A Teachta Dála, ...

Investigation and trial

On 26 May 2023, seven men were charged with attempted murder. The men range in age from 28 to 72 and appeared by videolink at Dungannon Magistrates Court on 29 May 2023. An eighth man was charged in February 2024. In July 2024, four of those charged with attempted murder were granted bail as the trial was not expected to complete until 2026.

References

{{reflist Omagh 2023 in Northern Ireland February 2023 in the United Kingdom February 2023 in Ireland Attacks in the United Kingdom in 2023