John Caldwell latest news: New IRA probed after police officer shot in Northern Ireland

Detective chief inspector John Caldwell was loading footballs into his car when masked gunmen opened fire and continued to shoot him in a “brazen and calculated attack,” Northen Ireland Police Service (PSNI) said.

Children waiting to be collected by their parents “ran for cover in sheer terror” as masked gunmen opened fire just metres away.

Chief Constable Simon Byrne said: “This morning we have arrested three men aged 38, 45, and 47, in Omagh and Coalisland in connection with John’s attempted murder.

“They’re currently being questioned by detectives at Musgrave serious crime suite.”

PSNI assistant chief constable Mark McEwan said: “John’s own young son was with him at the time and witnessed the shooting. The trauma inflicted on this young boy is just horrific and he will never forget seeing his dad shot multiple times.”

Mr Caldwell remains in critical condition in hospital.

At least 15 children from the local Omagh high school were just metres away from the gunmen when they opened fire, according to Sky News.

The children are said to be “emotionally traumatised” following the incident.

When asked how he is coping after a colleague and member of his team was shot, chief constable Simon Byrne said: “It’s the one phone call you never want to get.”

Chief Constable Simon Byrne confirmed that three men have been arrested in Omagh and Coalisland over the shooting of John Caldwell.

Speaking at a press briefing, Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers said children waiting to be collected by their parents after a football training session “ran for cover in sheer terror” when masked gunmen opened fire at John Caldwell.

Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton-Harris described the attack on detective chief inspector John Caldwell as “cowardly and callous”.

He said “a very senior and well-known local police officer” is now in a critical condition in hospital.

Mr Heaton-Harris said the community of Omagh is “completely shocked by this because society has moved on in Northern Ireland”.

He said: “There is no place for violence like this.”

Asked if he was concerned about the safety of PSNI officers, Mr Heaton-Harris said: “I’m always concerned about safety of PSNI officers but they’re completely professional, and in all my experiences with them they know exactly what they’re doing and actually are policing the communities of Northern Ireland really effectively and very, very well.

“But this is a really significant event. It’s a very serious event, and it’s difficult to underline how cowardly these people are.”

He said he will be in Northern Ireland “very shortly”.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was appalled by the “disgraceful shooting of an off-duty police officer in Omagh”.

Irish premier Leo Varadkar also condemned the “grotesque act of attempted murder”.

President of Ireland Michael D Higgins said: “The shooting of a police officer in front of his son is something that will be condemned by all those who believe in democracy and the peace that we all need to sustain.

“It is to be welcomed that members of all communities have expressed their revulsion at this act.”

Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald said the shooting was “diabolical and unacceptable”, and added there is no excuse or political rationale for it.

She told RTE: “There can be no hiding place for this. There can be no sympathy for this. There is no rhyme or reason politically speaking for a vicious act of thuggery like this.

“Now what we need is an all-Ireland effort co-operation between An Garda Siochana and the PSNI to find the motive for this act, and more importantly to apprehend the perpetrators, and anybody with any evidence or any information must not hesitate in bringing that forward immediately to the appropriate authorities.”

Sinn Fein vice president Michelle O’Neill, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, Alliance leader Naomi Long, UUP leader Doug Beattie and SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said they stand united in outright condemnation of the attack.

“We speak for the overwhelming majority of people right across our community who are outraged and sickened by this reprehensible and callous attempted murder,” they said.

“The community of Omagh has endured profound suffering, loss, and pain in the past which has left a deep trauma, and so this act of violence has left people there rightly angered.

“There is absolutely no tolerance for such attacks by the enemies of our peace.

“Those responsible must be brought to justice.

“This will require the full co-operation of the public whom we call upon to assist police in this attempted murder investigation.

“Together we stand with John’s family and his colleagues in the police service at this time.”

Northern Ireland’s political leaders have issued a joint statement condemning the shooting of a senior police officer in Omagh.

Dissident republican group the New IRA is the primary focus of detectives investigating the shooting of a police detective in Northern Ireland, the force has said.

An off-duty police officer shot in front of his son by masked men in Omagh, Co Tyrone, has been named as Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell.

DCI Caldwell was shot a number of times at the facility in Omagh around 8pm on Wednesday.

He was taken to Altnagelvin Hospital in Londonderry where Northern Ireland’s chief constable Simon Byrne said he was in a critical but stable condition.