A soldier who claims he shot two gunmen on Bloody Sunday today denied he entered the nationalist Bogside area of Derry waiting for the opportunity to shoot civil rights marchers.
Mr Barry MacDonald, QC, representing most of the families of the deceased and injured, suggested anyone in the area was liable to be seriously assaulted or shot by soldiers just because they were there.
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But Soldier O, a former sergeant in the Parachute Regiment, denied this and told the Saville Inquiry in London that paratroopers intended to arrest as many rioters as possible on January 30th, 1972.
The former soldier admitted troops cocked their weapons before they emerged from their armoured cars on the day 13 civil rights marchers were shot dead. A 14th man died later.
Mr MacDonald asked the soldier: "You personally cocked your weapon ready to shoot people, did you not?"
"Not ready to shoot people, I cocked my weapon so that I could defend myself if the need arose," Soldier O replied.
"How were you going to do that with a round in the breech?" Mr MacDonald asked.
"By shooting people eventually. Defending myself, not going in there to shoot people," he replied.
Mr MacDonald asked: "You cocked your weapon in your pig before you crossed the military barrier in order that you could shoot people as soon as the opportunity arose?"
"That is not correct," the soldier replied.
Mr MacDonald put it to the soldier that he and his colleagues entered the Bogside with rounds in the breech "ready to fire on civilians".
"Not ready to fire at civilians, with a round in the breech, there was no reason to fire at civilians," the soldier replied.
Mr MacDonald suggested soldiers were not concerned about the dangers to civilians.
"No, that is not true," he replied. "The weapon is perfectly safe with the safety catch applied, whether there is a round in the breech or not." Soldier O earlier told the inquiry he fired a total of eight shots at three different people he claims were gunmen on Bloody Sunday.
PA