The police officer who was shot in what is believed to have been a dissident republican gun attack in Derry yesterday has said he is determined to return to his duties as soon as he recovers.
The 43-year-old Catholic probationary officer, who joined the PSNI less than two years ago, had previously worked as a security officer and as a taxi driver. He is currently stationed in Omagh.
The father of two, who is originally from the Bogside, moved to the Waterside after he joined the PSNI. He was shot minutes after he had left his 15-year-old son at Lumen Christi College in Bishop Street at 8.20am.
Despite his injuries the officer managed to drive to the city's police headquarters at Strand Road about three-quarters of a mile away. There he received medical attention before an ambulance brought him to Altnagelvin Hospital.
The off-duty officer, who sustained shotgun pellet injuries to his arm, shoulder and face, is the first member of the PSNI to have been shot in Derry and he is the first police officer to have been shot in the city since Constable Alice Collins was wounded outside the courthouse, also in Bishop Street, nine years ago.
Deputy Chief Constable Paul Leighton, who visited the officer in hospital, said: "I know this officer very well and his family told me that he is determined to resume his duties as a police officer serving the entire community. He wants to do that and they support him in his decision."
"It was an emotional meeting. His wife and children were understandably very upset but they are very much a united family. Among the people who contacted me to pass on their best wishes to the officer and to his family were the Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness and the Commissioner designate of the Garda Síochána Fachtna Murphy.
"This off-duty officer was sitting in a queue of cars after leaving his son off at college. The gunman came up from behind and fired a single shot through the rear passenger side window. The gunman then escaped and we have linked the attempted murder to the discovery of a burnt-out BMW car, registration number RI84 GGP, which was later found at High Park in the Creggan area of the city.
"Earlier this week the local community responded in a commendable way in terms of assisting us in our investigations into a serious sexual assault on an 18- year-old American student. We are confident of the same support in relation to this attempted murder because I know the people of Derry, they don't want this," said the deputy chief constable.
There has also been widespread condemnation of the attack. The Bishop of Derry, Dr Séamus Hegarty, said it was an offence against God and the community. The shooting had shocked and dismayed him.
"I had hoped such attacks that were an everyday occurrence in the past had been consigned to the pages of history. People who still engage in these attacks on the community are, I believe, out of tune with the mood of the community, who have clearly said that it wishes to leave the darkness of the past behind. This attempted murder is a clarion call that we cannot take anything for granted," he said.
Fr Roland Colhoun, in whose parish the murder bid occurred and who is a chaplain to Lumen Christi College, said the students were in a state of shock. "The actions of those responsible are in total contrast to what the students were learning in their RE classes today, that you love and respect your neighbour. That is something these assailants have obviously decided to reject and that is why they and their actions are rejected by this community.
"As well as Lumen Christi there are two primary schools in Bishop Street. The streets were crowded at the time with parents and their children and God knows what effect this has had on the children," he said.