Police treating Wednesday's officer shooting in Northern Ireland as 'terrorism-related'

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - A recent attempted murder of a serving police officer in Northern Ireland is now treated as "terrorism-related," police confirmed on Friday, pointing out the Irish dissident group the New IRA.

"Following the attempted murder of Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell on Wednesday, 22nd February I can confirm that we are now treating it as terrorism-related and our primary line of enquiry is the New IRA," said Mark McEwan, a top official at Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

On Wednesday, an off-duty police officer John Caldwell was wounded after being shot by two gunmen at Youth Sport, Slieveard Park, Omagh.

So far, the police have arrested four men over the attempted murder.

Speaking at a news conference in Belfast, Michelle O’Neill, the vice president of the Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein and first minister-designate of Northern Ireland, once again condemned the shooting.

"We stand united as one voice in condemnation" of the attack on Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell, she said, along with representatives of main political parties, including the Democratic Unionist Party's leader Jeffrey Donaldson.

Meanwhile, PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne said Caldwell remains critically ill in the hospital and was heavily sedated after the attack.

A New Year’s message from the Irish dissident group the New IRA has caused concerns as it pledged to "use all means at its disposal" to end British rule in Ireland.

"As we enter 2023, Ireland remains under occupation and our national sovereignty is denied by a foreign government," said the Jan. 2 message from the New IRA, a splinter group formed after the disarmament of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).