London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Nov 24, 2025

Omagh police shooting: Sixth man, aged 71, arrested

Omagh police shooting: Sixth man, aged 71, arrested

Police investigating the attempted murder of Det Ch Insp John Caldwell have arrested a sixth man.

The 71-year-old was arrested in Omagh on Saturday under the Terrorism Act.

Det Ch Insp Caldwell was shot multiple times in front of his young son at a sports complex in Omagh, County Tyrone, after coaching under-15s at football.

Earlier, detectives were given more time to question four men already held in connection with Wednesday evening's shooting.

A court in Belfast granted an extension to the detention of the suspects, aged 22, 38, 45 and 47, until 22:00 GMT on Tuesday.

They and another man, aged 43, remain in custody having been arrested on Thursday and Friday in the Omagh and Coalisland areas of County Tyrone.

Det Ch Insp Caldwell is critically ill in hospital following the attack.

Policing representative body the Police Federation for Northern Ireland said he had suffered life-changing injuries.

On Saturday more than 1,000 people took part in a walk and a rally to show support for the senior Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officer who was off duty when he was shot.

Many attending the rally held posters which said "no going back! Unite against paramilitary violence".

People took part in a rally outside Omagh Courthouse


The PSNI's main line of inquiry is that dissident republican group the New IRA was responsible for shooting the 48-year-old in the car park of the Youth Sport Omagh site.

Dissident republicans oppose the 1998 Good Friday Agreement peace deal and continue to use violence to attempt to unite Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland.

Det Ch Insp Caldwell's football club, Beragh Swifts FC, organised the walk.

The route from Beragh Swifts FC to Beragh Red Knights GAA club was short but significant - Constable Ronan Kerr was a member of the GAA club when he was murdered in 2011.

A security alert is ongoing in Beragh after a suspicious object was found on Dervahroy Road


On Saturday afternoon, after the walk, police confirmed that a security alert was ongoing in the Beragh area after a suspicious object was found on Dervahroy Road.

The PSNI said it was too early to speculate on whether the events were linked.

The rally, which was organised by trade unionists, was held after the walk on Saturday morning, near the site of a 1998 bombing which was the single most deadly atrocity in Northern Ireland's Troubles, killing 29 people.

The bombing was carried out by dissident republican group the Real IRA.

People gathered in Omagh in protest against violence


'Hit everybody hard'


Beragh Red Knights GAA club coach Celine Curran said the attack on Det Ch Insp Caldwell has "affected the community as a whole in Beragh".

"It's really hit everybody very hard," she told BBC News NI.

Carmel Quinn and Celine Curran are both Beragh Red Knights coaches


"We're all coaches at the end of the day. We're all parents at the end of the day.

"Our children go to Youth Sport as well - it's got nothing to do with religion.

"We are here in support of a father who was doing a coaching job and a son who has witnessed something life-changing."

Bovelle Hamilton, who has known John since he was a boy, says the turnout was amazing


Bovelle Hamilton has known Det Ch Insp Caldwell since he was eight years old and came to show support to him and his family.

"We are absolutely shocked at what happened to him," she said.

Geoffrey Irwin also took part in the walk.

He said: "I know John personally, I went to primary school with him and also high school in Omagh."

He added that John was "very dedicated" to the club and gave up his free time to volunteer.

Geoffrey Irwin went to school with the senior detective


On Friday, the leaders of Northern Ireland's five main political parties presented a united front with PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne.

Mr Byrne said it was a significant show of solidarity that showed the "sheer sense of outrage at this pointless and senseless attack".


Investigations ongoing


Police believe the gunmen made off in a small, dark car, which was found burnt out at Racolpa Road, outside Omagh.


An Garda Síochána (police in the Republic of Ireland) continue to work closely with the PSNI after the shooting, a spokesperson said.

Gardaí previously said it had intensified patrolling in border counties following the attack.

It added that it would provide the PSNI with assistance as required as the investigation continues.

Last March, the the threat level posed by dissident republican terrorism in Northern Ireland was lowered from severe to substantial for the first time in 12 years.

The decision to lower the threat level was taken by the Security Service (MI5) after assessing a wide range of information, independently of ministers.

Since 2010 it had been "severe", meaning attacks are highly likely. It is now "substantial", meaning attacks are likely.

The threat level is assessed over a period of time rather than in reaction to one event.

Dt Ch Insp Caldwell has been the senior detective in high-profile inquiries including:

*  The murder of Shane Whitla in a Lurgan park in January

*  The stabbing of Natalie McNally in December

*  The shooting of Lyra McKee, a journalist killed while observing rioting in Derry in 2019 in an attack claimed by the New IRA

*  The 2011 murder of Ronan Kerr by dissident republicans, the most recent fatal attack on a police officer in Northern Ireland

He had received a number of threats in the past, BBC News NI understands, and was aware his investigations of dissident republican attacks made him a high-profile target.

He continued to carry out his activities as a football coach and whether that was a pattern that aided the targeting of him is of course a matter for the investigation.

The last gun attack on a PSNI officer was in January 2017.

The PSNI officer was hit by automatic gunfire at a petrol station in north Belfast.


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Google Struggles to Meet AI Demand as Infrastructure, Energy and Supply-Chain Gaps Deepen
Car Parts Leader Warns Europe Faces Heavy Job Losses in ‘Darwinian’ Auto Shake-Out
Arsenal Move Six Points Clear After Eze’s Historic Hat-Trick in Derby Rout
Wealthy New Yorkers Weigh Second Homes as the ‘Mamdani Effect’ Ripples Through Luxury Markets
Families Accuse OpenAI of Enabling ‘AI-Driven Delusions’ After Multiple Suicides
UK Unveils Critical-Minerals Strategy to Break China Supply-Chain Grip
Taylor Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia” Extends U.K. No. 1 Run to Five Weeks
UK VPN Sign-Ups Surge by Over 1,400 % as Age-Verification Law Takes Effect
Former MEP Nathan Gill Jailed for Over Ten Years After Taking Pro-Russia Bribes
Majority of UK Entrepreneurs Regard Government as ‘Anti-Business’, Survey Shows
UK’s Starmer and US President Trump Align as Geneva Talks Probe Ukraine Peace Plan
UK Prime Minister Signals Former Prince Andrew Should Testify to US Epstein Inquiry
Royal Navy Deploys HMS Severn to Shadow Russian Corvette and Tanker Off UK Coast
China’s Wedding Boom: Nightclubs, Mountains and a Demographic Reset
Fugees Founding Member Pras Michel Sentenced to 14 Years in High-Profile US Foreign Influence Case
WhatsApp’s Unexpected Rise Reshapes American Messaging Habits
United States: Judge Dressed Up as Elvis During Hearings – and Was Forced to Resign
Johnson Blasts ‘Incoherent’ Covid Inquiry Findings Amid Report’s Harsh Critique of His Government
Lord Rothermere Secures £500 Million Deal to Acquire Telegraph Titles
Maduro Tightens Security Measures as U.S. Strike Threat Intensifies
U.S. Envoys Deliver Ultimatum to Ukraine: Sign Peace Deal by Thursday or Risk Losing American Support
Zelenskyy Signals Progress Toward Ending the War: ‘One of the Hardest Moments in History’ (end of his business model?)
U.S. Issues Alert Declaring Venezuelan Airspace a Hazard Due to Escalating Security Conditions
The U.S. State Department Announces That Mass Migration Constitutes an Existential Threat to Western Civilization and Undermines the Stability of Key American Allies
Students Challenge AI-Driven Teaching at University of Staffordshire
Pikeville Medical Center Partners with UK’s Golisano Children’s Network to Expand Pediatric Care
Germany, France and UK Confirm Full Support for Ukraine in US-Backed Security Plan
UK Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods Face Rising Backlash as Pandemic Schemes Unravel
UK Records Coldest Night of Autumn as Sub-Zero Conditions Sweep the Country
UK at Risk of Losing International Doctors as Workforce Exodus Grows, Regulator Warns
ASU Launches ASU London, Extending Its Innovation Brand to the UK Education Market
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Visit China in January as Diplomatic Reset Accelerates
Google Launches Voluntary Buyouts for UK Staff Amid AI-Driven Company Realignment
UK braces for freezing snap as snow and ice warnings escalate
Majority of UK Novelists Fear AI Could Displace Their Work, Cambridge Study Finds
UK's Carrier Strike Group Achieves Full Operational Capability During NATO Drill in Mediterranean
Trump and Mamdani to Meet at the White House: “The Communist Asked”
Nvidia Again Beats Forecasts, Shares Jump in After-Hours Trading
Wintry Conditions Persist Along UK Coasts After Up to Seven Centimetres of Snow
UK Inflation Eases to 3.6 % in October, Opening Door for Rate Cut
UK Accelerates Munitions Factory Build-Out to Reinforce Warfighting Readiness
UK Consumer Optimism Plunges Ahead of November Budget
A Decade of Innovation Stagnation at Apple: The Cook Era Critique
Caribbean Reparations Commission Seeks ‘Mutually Beneficial’ Justice from UK
EU Insists UK Must Contribute Financially for Access to Electricity Market and Broader Ties
UK to Outlaw Live-Event Ticket Resales Above Face Value
President Donald Trump Hosts Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at White House to Seal Major Defence and Investment Deals
German Entertainment Icons Alice and Ellen Kessler Die Together at Age 89
UK Unveils Sweeping Asylum Reforms with 20-Year Settlement Wait and Conditional Status
UK Orders Twitter Hacker to Repay £4.1 Million Following 2020 High-Profile Breach
×