Maguiresbridge horror shooting: Victims believed to be mother and two children, as man still in hospital while police probe triple murder and attempted suicide theory
Police are probing a suspected triple murder and attempted suicide after three people, believed to be a mother and her children, were shot dead.
A man, known to be from the same household as the slain three, remains in hospital in serious condition.
On Wednesday morning (23rd) a 999 call from inside a house close to the quiet Co Fermanagh village of Maguiresbridge raised alarms with emergency services.
The victims are a woman aged in her 40s and two children, a boy and a girl, whose ages police have not yet confirmed. According to the area’s MP, they were a mother and her two children.
Two of them were found dead at the scene, while a third passed away later in hospital; all of them plus the man, said PSNI Superintendent Robert McGowan, suffered gunshot wounds.
The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service said they received a 999 call at 8.21am yesterday morning and dispatched three emergency ambulances, one rapid response paramedic, two ambulance officers and an ambulance doctor to the scene.
According to Superintendent McGowan, the shootings took place shortly before police arrived, and he told a press conference it was “a very harrowing scene for all involved – not only police officers, but colleagues in the ambulance service, and family members”.
Saying there was a “limited domestic history” within the family, the officer added it is “certainly one line of inquiry detectives will take forward”.
Speaking at the scene, local MP Pat Cullen said she was “shocked to the core”, telling the Press Association: “It’s such a tragedy to hear that a mother and two wee children have lost their lives here today, and another person seriously injured.
“It’s just devastating news, devastating for the people of Maguiresbridge, a really close-knit community; just people that are the salt of the earth.
“I’m also thinking of all the wee school friends of those two wee children, and what that must feel like for all of them and how the next few days and weeks will be for everyone.”
The Sinn Fein MP called for the public to give the PSNI time to carry out their investigation, adding “speculation doesn’t get us anywhere”.
Former first minister and Fermanagh MLA Arlene Foster, who represented the area for almost 20 years, said the news was “just absolutely devastating” and the last thing anyone would expect in “a very sleepy little village” like Maguiresbridge.
Speaking from London, the current House of Lords member said the wider family of the victims, some of whom she knows personally, will “need a lot of support in the coming days”.
“I am sure the community in Fermanagh will give that to them,” she added. “I send my deepest condolences, love and support to them at this time.”
The local Gaelic football club said those who died in the tragedy were all “active and beloved” members of the club.
“St Mary’s Maguiresbridge GFC offer our heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of those impacted by the tragic incident which happened in our community this morning” it said in a statement on Facebook.