Sky News report on 2009 Continuity IRA murder of Stephen Carroll
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 For the first time in 11 years, police officers in Northern Ireland are mourning the death
00:05 and investigating the murder of one of their own.
00:09 Forensic experts examined the car in which Constable Stephen Carroll was shot dead. He
00:13 was 48, a Catholic, with a wife and a grown-up son who'd spent half of his life in the force.
00:20 Officers had been lured here by a genuine call for help from a woman who'd had her window
00:24 smashed with a brick. As they investigated, shots were fired from a nearby hill. One went
00:29 through the car window and hit Constable Carroll in the head.
00:33 We have colleagues without a workmate, a wife without a husband, a son without a father,
00:42 and grandchildren without a grandfather. We have reports of a man in a light-coloured
00:47 top seen running away from the scene after the incident. Clearly we're very keen to identify
00:54 that person and clearly any person who feels that they can help us identify that person
00:58 would be of utmost importance to the police inquiry.
01:01 A local councillor described how his young son was nearby when the shots rang out.
01:06 He came well into the car in a bit of a state and I says, "What's wrong, Connor? Is something
01:09 happening in the club?" He says, "Daddy, there's gunfire there. There's been shooting." And
01:13 I says, "Oh no, son, it's probably just fireworks." But he says, "No, get me out of here. Get
01:17 me out of here."
01:18 Graffiti on the Craighaven estate where Constable Carroll died shows some level of support for
01:23 the continuity IRA, as well as criticism of Sinn Féin for abandoning the armed struggle
01:28 in favour of democratic politics. Their Deputy First Minister hit back with unusually strong
01:34 language.
01:35 These people, they are traitors to the island of Ireland. They have betrayed the political
01:44 desires, hopes and aspirations of all of the people who live on this island and they don't
01:49 deserve to be supported by anyone.
01:52 The fragile relationship between Sinn Féin and the democratic unionists has been put
01:56 to the test by the renewed violence, but for now, they remain united.
02:01 This is a battle of wills between the political class and the evil gunmen. The political class
02:11 will win. We are absolutely determined that these people will not direct us, will not
02:18 frame our agenda and will not cause us to retreat from the steps that we believe to
02:23 be right to take this country forward.
02:26 In the hours afterwards, the police searched houses near where the shooting happened and
02:29 maintained a large presence in the area. A more robust police presence could create extra
02:35 difficulties for Sinn Féin and threaten their power-sharing deal with the DUP. But that's
02:40 exactly what the terrorists want.
02:42 [BLANK_AUDIO]