Accused ‘made fun of of John Caldwell shooting’ on social media

ONE of the men charged over a claim of responsibility for the attempt to murder a top PSNI detective allegedly made fun of the attack on social media, the High Court heard this week.

Prosecutors claimed Tiarnan McFadden, 25, uploaded an image of a ball hitting the back of a net on the night Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell was shot after finishing a youth football coaching session in Omagh.

The posting was captioned: ‘Anyone fancy a kickabout’.

Details emerged as McFadden, of Carnhill in Derry, and 23-year-old co-accused Caolan Brogan, from Bluebellhill Gardens in the city, mounted applications for bail.

They are jointly charged with possessing an article for use in terrorism, namely a typed notice declaring
that the New IRA carried out the attack.

A third man, William McDonnell, 37, of Balbane Pass in Derry, is accused of the same offence.

DCI Caldwell was shot repeatedly and seriously wounded in front of his young son at a sports complex on February 22.

Seven other men are currently in custody charged with his attempted murder.

On February 26 a typed letter setting out the claim of responsibility for the assassination bid appeared on a gable wall at Central Drive in Derry’s Creggan estate.

It stated that a New IRA active service unit targeted the off-duty policeman ‘within our chosen kill zone’ and warned that the terrorist grouping will be waiting in future for members of the security forces.

Based on CCTV and air support footage, the prosecution contend the note was attached approximately 20 minutes before the message appeared on the Twitter account ‘Republic Media’.

McFadden and Brogan allegedly travelled together to McDonnell’s home, collected a bucket and then headed in the direction of the gable wall, the court heard.

A Crown lawyer claimed the two suspects remained at the scene for less than a minute.

She suggested that three flashes seen on the footage during that period were photos being taken for social media purposes.

New IRA

With the defendants denying any involvement in the incident, McFadden told police he was only at the wall to clean graffiti from a mural.

Opposing bail, prosecution counsel argued that whoever posted the notice must have been trusted by and acting on behalf of the New IRA.

She claimed that less than two hours after DCI Caldwell was shot, and before details became public, McFadden made reference to the attack online.

“This applicant uploaded an image on a Facebook page of a ball going in the back of a football net with the caption ‘Anyone fancy a kickabout’,” counsel said.

McFadden also allegedly shared a video of a number of police vans which were believed to be travelling to the scene of the shooting.

That posting included the comment ‘What’s the rush?’ along with a laughing emoji, the court heard.

When someone else online suggested they were late for their dinner he allegedly replied: “Must have missed a football match or something.”

A further comment referred to looking for a sieve.

“Within a very short period of time Mr McFadden knew details of the activity occurring on the night DCI Caldwell was shot, and was
making light of it,” the prosecutor claimed.

McFadden’s barrister argued that the charge was based entirely on circumstantial evidence.

“The prosecution will never be able to establish the point at which this claim of responsibility went on that wall,” he insisted.

Counsel for Broghan described it as a “tenuous” case involving poor quality CCTV footage, adding that the notice could have been posted as far back as February 22.

Reserving judgment on both defendant’s application for bail, Mr Justice O’Hara said he will give his decision at a later stage.