First Bloody Sunday casualties 'not rioting'

The Bogside march on Bloody Sunday

A man who admitted throwing stones at the British Army on Bloody Sunday denied that either of the first two casualties of the day were involved in the disturbances when shot.

The tribunal in Londonderry is into the first week of testimony from civilian witnesses.

Thirteen youths and men were shot dead by British soldiers and another was fatally wounded after a civil rights parade in Derry's Bogside in January 1972.

John Johnston: fatally wounded

On Thursday, Billy McCartney said two of the casualties - Damien Donaghy, 15, and John Johnston, 59, - were both wounded before paratroops moved into the Bogside that day.

Mr Johnston died five months later.

Then aged 16, Mr McCartney admitted to the tribunal joining in the stone-throwing at soldiers in a derelict building on William Street. He said they retaliated "with the odd rubber bullet".

He also rejected suggestions that nail bombs were among the missiles being carried by rioters - a claim put forward by two soldiers who have admitted opening fire at that point in the day.

First live shot

Mr McCartney said in his statement: "The stone-throwing lasted for about five minutes. I saw nothing other than stones thrown at the soldiers that day."

He claimed a "salvo" of rubber bullets caused the crowd to run and within seconds a live shot rang out, wounding Damien Donaghy.

His statement to the tribunal said: "Damien Donaghy stumbled backwards to the right and seemed to be clutching his leg as he fell.

"I and about five other people surged forward to grab him and pull him backwards into cover.

"As we did, and within a few seconds of the first shot, another live shot rang out. That was the shot that hit the elderly man, John Johnston.

'People helped'

"He was still upright when I turned to look at him but his arms were around his chest and there was blood on the upper part of his body.

"Almost immediately some people closed in on him to help him."

He later said: "At no stage did I see either Damien Donaghy or Mr Johnston throw any stones."

However, a lawyer acting for most of the soldiers, Edmund Lawson QC, challenged Mr McCartney after he said in evidence he was not taking notice of what other people were doing when Mr Donaghy was shot.

Mr Lawson asked: "So you do not know what anyone was doing with his hands, do you?"

Mr McCartney replied: "I did not see anybody with their hands in the air."