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Prison officer named after M1 murder

Attacco contro David Black

The serving prison officer who died after his car left the M1 motorway near Lurgan when gunmen opened fire on it has been named.

David Black, who is in his 50s and from Cookstown, is the 30th prison officer to be killed in Northern Ireland since 1974.

The victim is understood to have been travelling to work at Maghaberry high-security prison – where protests by dissident republican inmates have been ongoing, at about 7.30am on Thursday.

He was driving a black Audi A4 (registration HHZ 1560), when a dark-blue Toyota Camry with a Dublin registration (94 D 50997) pulled up alongside and a number of shots were fired.

Mr Black’s car immediately veered off the road and into a deep drainage ditch.

Police have examined the scene and are also investigating a car – believed to be the Dublin reg Camry – burnt-out in Lurgan.

At this stage, officers believe Mr Black sustained “very serious and fatal gunshot wounds” in the attack. A post-mortem is due to be carried out.

“This morning, a prison officer – David Black – whose profession is simply to keep people safe, was brutally murdered on his way to work,” PSNI Chief Constable Matt Baggott said.

“Please be assured that the Police Service of Northern Ireland will do everything possible to bring those responsible to justice.

“I would ask everybody to get right behind the murder investigation as the hours and days unfold. This is an attack on all people and we need the full support of everyone.”

The father-of-two’s murder has been condemned by the First and deputy First Ministers.

“At this time, our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved family and we condemn this murder in the strongest possible terms,” Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness said in a joint statement.

“There can be no justification for this brutal attack as this man was going about his daily life.”

The First and deputy First Ministers added: “Actions like this have no place in society and those who carried out this murder have nothing positive to contribute and we refuse to let the people behind this attack divert us from building a better and peaceful future for everyone.

“We appeal to anyone with any information on this murder to contact the PSNI.”

Justice Minister David Ford branded the murder “horrific”.

“At the outset, I want to express my deepest sympathy to the family and colleagues of the murdered prison officer,” he said.

“This is a horrific murder, for which there can be no justification, and it will be rightly condemned by all across Northern Ireland.”

Mr Ford added: “At its very core, this is a human tragedy. A man has lost his life this morning and a family are grieving the loss of their loved one. My thoughts are also with the wider Prison Service family.

“We need to respond to this horrific act by bringing those responsible to justice.”

“Somebody who got out of bed this morning to do nothing more unusual than to get in his car and go to work has been brutally murdered as he drove along the motorway,” UUP leader Mike Nesbitt said.

“We’re hearing that there’s a car burnt out in north Lurgan and so it does seem to have the hallmarks of a terrorist assassination.”

Jeffrey Donaldson, DUP MP for Lagan Valley, added: “We’ve known for some time now that there has been a high level threat from dissident republicans and there’s a very strong dissident republican unit in the Lurgan area.

“People will be shocked at this incident and our thoughts and prayers are with the family of this man who has been murdered.”

His party colleague Nigel Dodds has raised the issue of the fatal attack in the House of Commons.

“This dastardly murder highlights that the battle against terrorism and the fight for peace and democracy continues in Northern Ireland,” he said.

“Next week marks the 25th anniversary of the Poppy Day massacre in Enniskillen. Sadly, there are still people who want to plunge Ulster into the darkness and depths of despair and death.

“They must not be allowed to succeed anyone with information must help the police track down these killers and bring them to justice.”

SDLP Upper Bann MLA Dolores Kelly said that the police must be permitted to conduct a “swift and accurate” investigation.

“This incident is sickening and disturbing, not to mention reminiscent of the worst moments of the last 40 years,” she said.

“The dark forces behind this disgusting murder – which will wreak devastation in the lives of those affected – do not represent the overwhelming majority of people in the North of Ireland.

“And they will not achieve anything by taking a life – any life.”

Sinn Féin Upper Bann MLA John O’Dowd said: “This morning’s attack on the M1 has resulted in an utterly pointless death of a prison officer.

“It will resolve nothing either within the prisons or in wider society. It is not part of any strategy or campaign. All it has done is to plunge a family into grief.

“The people responsible, or those who act as their political spokespeople, need to explain themselves to the community.”

The gun attack comes less than 24 hours after Secretary of State Theresa Villiers told a Westminster committee that dissident attacks in Northern Ireland had fallen by 20% so far this year.

It’s also a week after the threat of attack in Great Britain was downgraded to moderate.

“I utterly condemn this cowardly and evil attack,” Ms Villiers said on Thursday.

“The thoughts and deepest sympathy of us all are with the family, friends and colleagues of the murdered prison officer.

“The British and Irish Governments, the Executive, the PSNI and Garda – and above all the people of Northern Ireland – will continue to work together to ensure that those who pursue their aims by violence will not succeed.”

Kate Carroll, the widow of PSNI Constable Stephen Carroll who was shot dead by dissidents in 2009, told UTV that she had feared another attack against a member of security forces would happen.

“I can’t even imagine how those people are going to feel but, from my perspective, it was the worst news I had ever been given in my life,” she added.

The M1 is closed in both directions between J10 Lurgan and J11 (the M12 turnoff for Portadown).

Traffic is being diverted via the A3 through Lurgan and Craigavon, with westbound traffic rejoining at J11 and eastbound traffic rejoining at J10.

The motorway is likely to remain closed for most of today and motorists should expect long delays.

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René Querin

Di professione grafico e web designer, sono appassionato di trekking e innamorato dell'Irlanda e della sua storia. Insieme ad Andrea Varacalli ho creato e gestisco Les Enfants Terribles.

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