Il principale sospettato per l’omicidio dell’ex comandante IRA Gerard “Jock” Davison è stato ucciso ieri sera a East Belfast.
Kevin McGuigan senior è stato assassinato davanti alla sua abitazione in Comber Court, nel quartiere nazionalista di Short Strand.
I vicini dicono che a McGuigan hanno sparato ripetute volte, compreso un colpo alla nuca.
L’ex membro dell’IRA sarebbe colui che ha fatto fuoco contro il suo ex responsabile Gerard Davison, freddato nella zona di Markets a maggio di quest’anno.
Un tempo prominente repubblicano, Kevin McGuigan fu incarcerato per aver tentato di uccidere un soldato durante i Troubles.
Venne colpito al ginocchio durante una punizione in stile paramilitare compiuta dai Provisional IRA più di un decennio fa e si pensa abbia accettato la richiesta di bande criminali per uccidere Davison.
Kevin McGuigan aveva perso i favori del movimento repubblicano dopo un incidente avvenuto a Short Strand nei primi anni Duemila.
Dopo un litigio con Gerard Davison, gli spararono ad entrambe le gambe e fu espulso dall’IRA.
Da allora si legò con gruppi criminali di East e South Belfast.
Sul luogo dell’omicidio, avvenuto alle 21 di mercoledì 12 agosto, sono giunti numerosi agenti di polizia.
Una donna ha sentito sei colpi di arma da fuoco.
Un’altra vicina ha detto di aver cercato di assistete l’uomo in fin di vita.
“Pensavo fossero fuochi d’artificio e poi ho sentito dei bambini gridare e scappare. Non ho mai visto nulla di simile nella mia vita” ha affermato.
“Ho sentito sua moglie gridare e sono uscita di casa. Ho visto l’uomo a terra e ho messo il mio cardigan sotto alla sua testa, gli ho preso la mano e ho tentato di sentire il battito cardiaco.
“Io ed un’altra vicina abbiamo detto alcune preghiere al suo orecchio”.
La donna afferma che Kevin McGuigan era uscito dalla macchina e stava camminando verso casa quando è stato colpito alla nuca.
“Era un uomo benvoluto, ottimo uomo di famiglia che aiutava chiunque, giovani e anziani”, ha proseguito la donna.
Secondo i residenti un’ambulanza è giunta in pochi minuti e McGuigan è stato trasportato in ospedale. In seguito la polizia ne ha confermato la morte.
Kevin McGuigan viveva poco fuori la zona di Short Strand da alcuni mesi.
Niall Ò Donnghaile, consigliere dello Sinn Féin, ha condannato l’omicidio: “Non c’è posto per azioni del genere nella nostra società.
“La comunità respinge qualsiasi tentativo fatto dai gruppi armati di riportarci nel passato”.
Tratto da The Irish News
Jock Davison murder suspect Kevin McGuigan Sr shot dead
THE chief suspect in the murder of Gerard ‘Jock’ Davison was shot dead in east Belfast last night.
Kevin McGuigan snr was killed outside his home at Comber Court in the Short Strand area.
Neighbours said he was shot beside his front gate multiple times including in the back of the head.
The former IRA killer is believed to have pulled the trigger on his one-time boss Davison, who was shot dead in the city’s Markets area in May.
Once a high-ranking republican, McGuigan was jailed for the attempted murder of a soldier during the Troubles.
He was kneecapped by the Provisionals more than a decade ago and is thought to have agreed to shoot Davison for criminals.
McGuigan, who was in his early fifties, fell from favour after an incident in the Short Strand in the early 2000s.
After an altercation with Davison he was shot in both legs in a paramilitary-style attack and expelled from the IRA.
Since then he was closely linked with criminal families from south and east Belfast.
A large number of police were called to the murder scene at about 9pm last night.
One woman said around six shots were fired.
Another neighbour said she tended to the wounded man.
“I thought it was fireworks and then I heard the kids screaming and running. I have never witnessed anything in my life like it,” she said.
“I heard his wife scream and I ran out the front. I saw him and threw my cardigan over his head, grabbed his hand and tried to get a pulse.
“Me and another neighbour blessed him and said a couple of prayers into his ear.”
The 57-year-old said McGuigan had got out of a car and was walking to his home when he was shot in the back of the head near his front gate.
“He was a well-loved man, a family man who looked after everybody here, young and old,” she said.
People living in the area said an ambulance arrived within minutes and McGuigan was taken to hospital. Police later confirmed he had died.
Clusters of people including groups of teenagers and young children looked on in shock as officers moved in.
McGuigan had presented himself to police for questioning in the weeks following 47-year-old Davison’s murder.
It is believed McGuigan had been living outside Short Strand area in recent months.
Sinn Féin councillor Niall Ó Donnghaile condemned the shooting, saying: “There can be no place for actions like this in our society.
“The community here rejects any attempt by any armed group to turn the clock back to the past.”