Off-duty police officer is shot at sports complex in Northern Ireland

Off-duty police officer is shot ‘multiple times in front of youngsters while taking a training session’ at a sports complex in Omagh, Northern Ireland

An off-duty police officer has been shot at a sports complex in Omagh, Co Tyrone, while reportedly coaching a football session. 

There are reports that the officer was hit up to four times at the facility on the Killyclogher Road at about 8pm this evening.

The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service said they received a 999 call at 8.02pm following reports of an incident in the Slievard area.

‘NIAS dispatched a Rapid Response Paramedician Emergency Crew and an ambulance officer to the incident,’ a spokesperson said.

‘Following assessment and initial treatment at the scene, one patient was taken by ambulance to Altnagelvin Area Hospital.’

Police in Northern Ireland have confirmed that a serving police officer has been taken to hospital after being injured in a shooting incident. 

An off-duty police officer has reportedly been shot at a sports complex in Omagh, Co Tyrone (pictured)

A PSNI spokesperson said police are currently at the scene of the shooting in the Killyclogher Road area of Omagh.

‘One man, a serving police officer, has been taken to hospital for treatment after being injured in a shooting incident at a sports complex just before 8pm this evening,’ they said.

‘More details will be issued when available.’

Ulster Unionist Party MLA Tom Elliott has indicated the officer was shot in front of young people at a football coaching session.

‘Despicable, cowardly action. No place in society for this,’ he tweeted.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson condemned the attack.

‘Terrible news from Omagh tonight,’ he tweeted.

‘Our heart goes out to the family of this courageous police officer and to his colleagues. We condemn outright the cowards responsible for this. These terrorists have nothing to offer and they must be brought to justice. We stand with the PSNI.’

Former Stormont justice minister Naomi Long said her thoughts were with the officer, his family, colleagues and all those affected by the shooting.

She branded the attack an ‘evil act of cowardice’.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said: ‘That an attack like this took place in Omagh, a place that bears the scars of violence more than many others but where people have shown immense strength, compassion and grace, must make this a powerful moment of reflection for all of us.

‘This is a moment to rededicate ourselves to the primacy of peace and resistance against violence. It is a moment for us all, one community and one people, to say we are never going back to this – not in our name.’

This is a breaking story…More updates to follow.

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