A former British soldier yesterday described how he came under fire after entering Derry's Bogside on Bloody Sunday.
The lance corporal, of C Company in the First Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, said the shots were fired from a Thompson submachine-gun - a weapon known to have been used by the IRA in the 1970s - as he was running across waste ground with two other members of his platoon.
He told the Bloody Sunday Inquiry, sitting in London, that they were the first shots he heard after entering the Bogside that day. The lance corporal, identified only as Soldier 003, said in his statement: "Shots were fired somewhere from our right (west)which I think came from the direction of Columbcille Court."
He said the round hit the ground about 10-15 metres ahead of him and some had hit a puddle surrounding burnt-out vehicles.
Soldier 003 continued: "The shots were fired from a Thompson submachine-gun, which has a very distinctive heavy sound."
The lance corporal said his company was originally sent to Derry from Belfast merely as stand-by reserves for the civil rights march on January 30, 1972. Another witness, referred to only as INQ 945, told the inquiry "all hell broke loose" when he first heard gunfire after entering the Bogside. INQ 945, who was a lance corporal in the First Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, said he was attached to C Company on Bloody Sunday and had been deployed to prevent rioting and to assist with any arrests.
The witness said he recalled standing near the Rossville flats when he heard shots from an M1 carbine or a similar weapon not used by soldiers.
He said in his statement: "The weapon fired was definitely not a handgun. It was louder than a pistol but not as heavy as a high velocity SLR (army-issue self-loading rifle) and the weapon was firing shorter rounds, possibly .30 calibre M1 carbine." Within a couple of minutes, he said, he could hear the army returning fire.
He added: "There was an exchange of gunfire which seemed to go on forever but I would guess went on for up to five minutes."
The witness said: "There was a feeling of elation in the barracks (that night) because we believed that those who had been shot were terrorists. The hearing was adjourned until today. - (PA)