Skip to main content
On Air Now
Listen Now

1am to 4am

Listen Now

1am to 7am

Three men cleared of murdering journalist Lyra McKee

The shooting took place after a gunman opened fire during a riot in Londonderry, Northern Ireland.

Share

Lyra McKee was a journalist reporting from riots in Derry, Northern Ireland, when the shooting took place
Lyra McKee was a journalist reporting from riots in Derry, Northern Ireland, when the shooting took place. Picture: Handout

By Danielle de Wolfe

Three men have been found not guilty of murdering 29-year-old journalist Lyra McKee in Northern Ireland

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

Ms McKee was shot in the head when a masked gunman fired towards police during a riot in Londonderry in April 2019.

The Belfast reporter was shot while standing next to PSNI officers, as she watched the disorder on Fanad Drive on the evening of April 18 after petrol bombs were thrown at a passing police car.

The rioting is said to have been a response by dissident republicans to police activity in which homes were searched.

Read more: Security guard uses old G4S uniform to trick bank staff into handing him £117,000 before fleeing to Ghana for four years

Read more: Government in talks with Pakistan about grooming gang ringleader case

Sara Canning (left), Lyra McKee's partner, walks behind the murdered journalist's coffin as it is carried from St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast.
Sara Canning (left), Lyra McKee's partner, walks behind the murdered journalist's coffin as it is carried from St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast. Picture: Alamy

It was during the Easter period when all shades of Irish republicanism mark the anniversary of the 1916 Rising: the Dublin uprising credited as a key step in the south of Ireland gaining independence from the UK.

A television crew, including British presenter Reggie Yates, had been filming in the area with the republican organisation Saoradh for a documentary for MTV.

After filming around several Derry locations in the morning, they left the area before the shooting happened.

Family and friends of Lyra McKee outside Belfast Crown Court, where judgement is due in the trial of three men for the murder of the Belfast journalist.
Family and friends of Lyra McKee outside Belfast Crown Court, where judgement is due in the trial of three men for the murder of the Belfast journalist. Picture: Alamy

The trial of three men who were found not guilty of Ms McKee’s murder by intentionally encouraging or assisting the gunman on a joint enterprise basis, heard that the shots were fired by a masked man standing at the corner of Fanad Drive and the southern part of Central Drive.

Following the fourth shot, screaming began.

As the gunman was seen retreating down Central Drive, Ms McKee was rushed to hospital in a police Landrover, but was confirmed dead just after she arrived.

Political mural by photographer Lyra McKee, who was shot in Derry in April 2019. A splinter gro
Political mural by photographer Lyra McKee, who was shot in Derry in April 2019. A splinter gro. Picture: Alamy

More to follow