"Mr Justice Scoffield stated that Father Fitzpatrick and Mr Butler were killed by the same bullet as they attempted to cross the road, indicating they posed no risk."
"The coroner emphasized that David McCafferty, although involved with the IRA youth wing, was not engaged in any activity that day and should be viewed as innocent."
"The soldier, known as Soldier A, was less than 100 metres away and fired without making an assessment of the risk, concluding that the force used was unreasonable."
"The coroner confirmed that no warning was given before the shooting and that the three victims were not carrying any weapons at the time."
The coroner ruled that British Army soldiers acted with unreasonable force during the shooting of Father Noel Fitzpatrick, Patrick Butler, and two teenagers in Belfast. All victims were unarmed and posed no threat. The coroner noted that Father Fitzpatrick and Mr. Butler were killed by the same bullet while attempting to cross the road. David McCafferty was shot while trying to retrieve the priest's body. The soldier responsible fired prematurely without assessing the situation, and no warnings were given before the shooting occurred.
Read at Irish Independent
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]