'Significant operational and investigative failures' by police over four deaths
Patrick Rooney, nine, Hugh McCabe, 20, Samuel McLarnon, 27, and Michael Lynch, 28, were shot during disorder in Belfast in 1969.
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Patrick Rooney, nine, Hugh McCabe, 20, Samuel McLarnon, 27, and Michael Lynch, 28, were shot during disorder in Belfast in 1969.
However, investigators were unable to determine which vehicle had fired the shot. âThe evidence also indicates that the officers who crewed the Shorlands were insufficiently trained in the use of the Browning machine guns, and that there was a lack of clear instruction as to how the weapons could be used to control public order without risking the lives of innocent bystanders,â Mrs Anderson said. Mr McCabe was a soldier who had been at home in Divis on leave when he was fatally wounded. Mrs Anderson concluded he was most likely to have been shot by one of two police marksmen positio...
'Investigative Failures' By Police Found Over Four Deaths Significant operational and investigative failures by the police over the deaths of four people during severe disorder in Belfast in August 1969 have been found, according to the Police Ombudsman. In a 128-page report published , Marie Anderson concluded that nine-year-old Patrick Rooney, Hugh McCabe aged 20, Samuel McLarnon aged 27, and 28-year-old Michael Lynch, died after being struck by police gunfire during disturbances in the Divis and Ardoyne areas of the city. The report found that even allow...