Double shooting in Derry: Fresh appeal as man in critical condition

Police have blamed dissident Republicans after a 48-year-old man was shot twice in the leg, in his thigh and shin and a 31-year-old man was shot in his thigh in the Rinmore Drive area of Creggan on Saturday evening.

It was reported to police at 6:35pm that the two men were found with gunshot wounds to their legs in an alleyway in Rinmore Drive, near Creggan shops.

Ambulance personnel and police attended the scene and both men were taken to hospital. Both were taken to Altnagelvin and one man is understood to be in a critical condition in the Royal Victoria Hospital at present. The other shooting victim is thought to have been discharged from hospital.

Detective Inspector Michelle Boyd said: “Our officers are continuing with their enquiries into these savage attacks, which we believe were carried out by dissident republicans.

“The fact the victims were shot in a residential area at a time when people would have been out and about shows just how reckless those responsible are, and how they have no regard whatsoever for life.”

Det. Insp. Boyd the shootings brings to four the number of such episodes in the city since the start of 2021.

“They are simply unacceptable and there can never be any justification for them,” she said, adding: “Carrying out attacks like this during a global health pandemic is particularly repugnant. We know the majority of people are working hard to keep their community safe and to protect the NHS, yet these violent criminals are endangering lives and increasing pressures on our emergency services and frontline workers.

“I am appealing to the public to help us remove these violent criminals from our community by bringing any information they have to us.

“In particular, we want to hear from anyone who was in the area at around 6:30pm and saw what happened to call our detectives at Strand Road on 101, quoting reference number 1559 of 06/02/21.”

Information can also be given on the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/

The attacks have been widely condemned locally.

Foyle MP Colum Eastwood said: “Utterly depressing that we’ve had a double shooting in Derry. Our hospital has enough to deal with at this time. We don’t want the law of the jungle in our city. Get off our backs.”

Sinn Féin MLA Karen Mullan said: “There is no place for guns or this type of activity on our streets.

“This is the fourth shooting since Christmas. We are in the middle of a pandemic, our health service is already stretched to the limit. This is the last thing people of this city want to see.

“Anyone with information on what happened should bring it forward to the PSNI.”

People Before Profit Councillor Shaun Harkin said: “People Before Profit repeat what we have said many times before - these are futile acts that only serve to further traumatise those directly impacted and a community facing many hardships - and brings burden to an already overwhelmed health service.”