Soldiers Murdered, Antrim
08 Mar 2009
Two soldiers were shot dead outside Masserene Army barracks in Antrim on the evening of Saturday 7 March. The attack occurred at around 9.40pm. Four other males were also rushed to hospital. Two of those in hospital are in a serious condition, one is critical and another is serious but stable.
Detective Chief Superintendent Derek Williamson, leading the investigation into the shooting made the following appeals close to the murder scene.
”Two young men have lost their lives and 4 other young men were seriously injured in a brutal and callous attack. The people who carried out this attack had no thought for people in the vicinity and it is clear that they intended to kill not only soldiers but also two civilians who were going about their work.
The gunmen who carried out this attack targeted Masserene Barracks and it is possible that they also targeted the two men making pizza deliveries. I would appeal to anyone who was in the Antrim area, in particular the area around Domino's Pizza anytime after 9pm on Saturday evening to come forward.
I would also appeal to anyone who was on the Randalstown Road in Antrim in the vicinity of Masserene Barracks and who noticed anything suspicious to come forward. The incident occurred at around 9.40pm so we would ask that anyone who was in the area between 9.15 and 9.45 to come forward and speak to us.
Currently, we have sealed off an area at Ranaghan Road in Randalstown where a dark coloured Vauxhall Cavalier, registration number TDZ 7309, was discovered shortly after 11pm last night. At this time, a possible link to the double murder is being investigated. “
The Chief Constable of the PSNI, Sir Hugh Orde also said “This of course is a very sad day for Northern Ireland and our particular thoughts are with the families of those killed and indeed injured. I think the important thing to remember is, this is a major police enquiry, we have put all the resources we need into it and it's also important to remember that the people responsible for this not only deliberately and determinedly drove an attack home on members of the British military establishment they also equally, with equal determination, tried to kill ordinary members of that community at the same time and I think we should reflect on that.”
A major incident room has been set up at Antrim and detectives can be contacted at Antrim PSNI station on 0845 600 8000. Alternatively members of the public can pass information anonymously to the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555111.
