Garda chief: Attempted murder of detective marks a sombre day for policing

The head of the Irish police said the attempted murder of a senior detective marks a “very sombre day for all of us involved in policing on this island”.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said he was “shocked” at the “awful, grotesque, vicious” attack on Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell and offered assistance to their counterparts in the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

“I know John, a very dedicated police officer giving good service to the people of Northern Ireland. And all of us hope and pray that he makes a speedy recovery,” Mr Harris told reporters in Dublin.

When asked about the impact of the attack on gardai, Mr Harris said: “Policing on this island is a collective effort between ourselves and the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

“A previous commissioner to myself said ‘although the colours of our uniforms are different, we’re all cut from the one cloth’. There is a comradeship between the two organisations and all of us feel very much the shock of these grim events from last night.”

There has been widespread condemnation from various political, civic and religious groups after Mr Caldwell was repeatedly shot in front of his son after training at a sports complex in Omagh, Co Tyrone, on Wednesday evening.

The PSNI has said the dissident republican group the New IRA is the “primary focus” of its attempted murder probe.

Mr Harris also told the Policing Authority in a scheduled appearance on Thursday that An Garda Siochana had extended “every assistance in terms of what operationally we can do to assist them both in terms of the investigation, but also ongoing operations that are being conducted”.

“Last night, when we were informed of this attack, we reacted quickly in terms of providing a very strong presence in the border area and that has carried on throughout the day,” he said on Thursday.

“I personally assured the Chief Constable (Simon Byrne) of our ongoing support with whatever requirements that they would make of us, as well as obviously conducting our own inquiries.”

The chairman of the group said the attempted murder of Mr Caldwell has cast a shadow over proceedings.

“An Garda Siochana and its members are no strangers, alas, to such attempts being made and many have given the ultimate sacrifice in the service of the state and of the people,” Bob Collins said.

“Members of An Garda Siochana too, on a continual basis, find themselves to be the subject of protest, of impermissible and utterly condemnable assaults on regrettably, an all too frequent basis.

“The Authority has always condemned those and fully understands the impact that they have on individuals who (work) every day and every night in the service of the state and with the intention of keeping all of us safe.”

Speaking in the Irish parliament earlier, deputy leader and foreign affairs minister Micheal Martin said he was “struggling to comprehend the savagery and depravity of last night’s attack”.

“Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell, a man whose day job is finding and prosecuting the worst and most dangerous threats to his community, and a man who was spending his free time working with young people at a sports centre, coaching them on teamwork, friendship, fitness and so forth.

“He was there with his young son, putting away the equipment, and two individuals with weapons walk up and fire multiple shots into his body, shooting him again and again, and they do everything in their power to try and kill him front of his young son and other children,” he told the Dail.

“The very best sort of a man attacked by the very worst.

“And I’m sure we’re all in this House united in articulating our absolute and heartfelt disgust and condemnation of those behind the attack last evening and as has been said – anybody who has any information at all is duty bound and should give that information to the policing authorities.

“We know that many thousands of others understand the trauma that such attacks and similar experiences over the decades have caused and we do not want to go back to that. We will not go back to that.”

Irish Justice Minister Simon Harris held a call with Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris on Thursday afternoon.

In a statement, Mr Harris said that the two ministers discussed the “current and ongoing co-operation” between police forces on both sides of the border.

He said that he “reassured the Secretary of State that the Government and An Garda Siochana will provide any support necessary to find and bring to justice those who carried out this cowardly attack”.