LONDON (AP) — Seven men appeared in court Monday on charges of attempted murder in connection with the February attack on a senior Northern Ireland police officer who was shot after his son’s soccer practice.
The suspects, aged 28 to 72, appeared by video link at Dungannon Magistrates’ Court, about 72 kilometers west of Belfast. They were ordered to remain in custody.
Chief Detective Inspector John Caldwell was seriously injured when gunmen opened fire on him at a sports complex in Omagh as he put footballs in the trunk of his car after coaching a team of under 15 years old.
A dissident Irish Republican Army splinter group claimed responsibility for the February 22 attack on Caldwell, which has investigated murders, organized crime and paramilitary groups.
The shooting took place less than two months before the 25th anniversary of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which largely ended sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland. Although the main Catholic and Protestant paramilitary groups have renounced violence and laid down their arms, IRA splinter groups continue to launch sporadic attacks on the security forces.
Politicians from across Ireland’s political divide, including Irish nationalist Sinn Fein – which was allied with the IRA during decades of Catholic-Protestant violence – condemned the attack on Caldwell.
Caldwell, who was hospitalized for several weeks after the shooting, made a public appearance at a garden party during King Charles III’s visit to Northern Ireland last week.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said on Saturday seven men had been charged with attempted murder in connection with the Caldwell attack. Two of the suspects were also charged with membership of a banned organization, namely the IRA, and three charged with preparing terrorist acts.
Omagh, about 60 miles (nearly 100 kilometres) west of Belfast, was the site of the deadliest attack during ‘The Troubles’ in Northern Ireland, a car bomb attack in August 1998 which killed 29 people. A dissident Republican group called the Real IRA claimed responsibility for the attack.