A fresh appeal for information has been launched over the murder of a police officer in Derry 26 years ago.
Constable Michael Ferguson was just 21 when he was shot dead by the IRA while attending a call about a theft from a shop on Shipquay Street on Saturday January 23rd, 1993.
Detectives from the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Legacy Investigation Branch say they believe they are close to apprehending those responsible.
They have issued a new appeal for information.
Det Insp Conor Sweeney, the senior investigating officer, said his team believes Ferguson was killed by a lone gunman.
“Michael, along with two colleagues, were attending a call to the Richmond Centre at around 2pm. Michael remained on the street when his two colleagues entered the shopping centre. A lone gunman approached . . . from behind and shot him twice in the back of the head,” he said.
‘Michael’s killers’
The gunman is believed to have fled on foot along Shipquay Street before entering Castle Street, in the direction of the Bogside.
“We are following a number of definite lines of inquiry and I believe we are extremely close to progressing criminal justice action against Michael’s killers,” added Det Insp Sweeney.
“My appeal is aimed at the local people of Derry/Londonderry who were in Shipquay Street on the day Michael was murdered. The gunman did not have his face covered and was wearing a distinctive green jacket. I believe that someone knows who this gunman was.”
He urged people to “stop and think” about the murder. He added: “Michael was a young man murdered while responding to a reported theft from a local shop . . . In the years since Michael’s murder, circumstances and allegiances may have changed . . . I want those who know who was involved that day to search their consciences and come forward to the police.
Anyone with information can contact detectives on 101 or by emailing LIBEnquiries psni.pnn.police.uk. – PA