Police shoot dead driver of 'stolen' car at roadblock
Times Online
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Ballynahinch (Ireland):
A man was shot dead by police in Northern Ireland yesterday at a checkpoint set up to stop a suspected stolen car.
An officer opened fire after a silver BMW reached the roadblock in Ballynahinch, Co Down, 20 miles south of Belfast. Another three men and two women in the car were taken for questioning.
Nuala O’Loan, the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman, announced an inquiry to establish whether the shooting was necessary to protect lives.
The BMW is believed to have travelled from Ballykinlar, about 12 miles away, and was heading for Belfast, according to reports. Officers had set up a checkpoint outside a police station in the town centre.
Police fired several shots, witnesses said. It was not clear whether the driver had tried to go through the roadblock. His body lay several feet from the car, a witness said. A priest from a nearby Roman Catholic church was called to the driver as he lay in the road.
Security sources later disclosed that the man was shot while he was still in the car. It is understood that his body was taken outside so that he could receive first aid.
Justin Felice, the ombudsman’s chief of investigations, urged anyone who saw what happened to contact him.
Apr 17, 2006
Times Online
_________
Ballynahinch (Ireland):
A man was shot dead by police in Northern Ireland yesterday at a checkpoint set up to stop a suspected stolen car.
An officer opened fire after a silver BMW reached the roadblock in Ballynahinch, Co Down, 20 miles south of Belfast. Another three men and two women in the car were taken for questioning.
Nuala O’Loan, the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman, announced an inquiry to establish whether the shooting was necessary to protect lives.
The BMW is believed to have travelled from Ballykinlar, about 12 miles away, and was heading for Belfast, according to reports. Officers had set up a checkpoint outside a police station in the town centre.
Police fired several shots, witnesses said. It was not clear whether the driver had tried to go through the roadblock. His body lay several feet from the car, a witness said. A priest from a nearby Roman Catholic church was called to the driver as he lay in the road.
Security sources later disclosed that the man was shot while he was still in the car. It is understood that his body was taken outside so that he could receive first aid.
Justin Felice, the ombudsman’s chief of investigations, urged anyone who saw what happened to contact him.
Apr 17, 2006
