It is the most beautiful of rural roads, quiet and tree-lined. The only sounds are the barking of a dog and the voices of television correspondents filing their reports for the evening news.
It was here, in a large, detached house around a mile outside the village of Maguiresbridge, Co Fermanagh, that the “very harrowing” events of Wednesday morning happened.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said it received a call from inside the property at about 7.50am. When they arrived, two people were dead and two others seriously injured. They were all members of the same family and all had sustained gunshot wounds.
One of the injured died in hospital in Enniskillen on Wednesday afternoon. It is understood the victims were two children and their mother, who was in her 40s.
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The other individual, an adult male, remains in a serious condition in hospital in Belfast.
A murder investigation has been launched and one line of inquiry is that this was a triple murder and an attempted suicide.
The names of the victims have not yet been released and, speaking to reporters at a press conference in Enniskillen PSNI station, local police commander Robert McGowan said not all family members had been briefed.
He said: “This tragic event will have sent shockwaves of sadness through the community.”
The local GAA club, St Mary’s Maguiresbridge, offered “heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of those impacted by this tragic incident which happened in our community”. It said the victims were “active and beloved members” of the club.
Dean Kenneth Hall, bishop’s commissary in the diocese of Clogher, said “the whole community has been shocked and saddened . . . we ask that the family circle of those affected will be kept in our thoughts and prayers”.
Elected representatives from both sides of the political divide also expressed their condolences. MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, Sinn Féin’s Pat Cullen, spent much of the day in the village. Similarly, DUP Assembly member Deborah Erskine was present for much of the day there.
On Wednesday evening, forensic officers in white suits could be seen examining a car parked across the road and another in the garden of the property on Drummeer Road.
The road remained closed, with tape and a police car acting as a blockade. A number of uniformed police officers were present at the scene.
Many locals were reluctant to speak about what happened, with some saying they found it difficult to express the feeling of shock and sadness in the village.
“It’s so sad, just so sad,” said one woman. “Such tragic circumstances – it’s the kind of thing you never think could happen.”
“Everyone is saying the same thing, that they’re shocked but don’t really know what else to say,” said Daniel, a local man. “It’s a strange feeling, like nobody really knows how to feel.
“I’ve spoken to enough people about this today, I’m lost for what to say any more. Every shop you go into, people are talking about it.”
Another man said: “I’m just shocked. What else can you say? It’s just an awful tragedy.”
