Soldier 'shot dead injured man'

The inquiry is sitting at the Guildhall in Londonderry

A man has told the Bloody Sunday Inquiry he pretended to be dead after he saw a soldier shooting a wounded man as he lay on the ground in Londonderry.

The inquiry is examining the events of 30 January 1972 when 13 civilians were shot dead by British paratroopers after a civil rights march in Londonderry. A 14th person died later.

Joseph Mahon was emotional on Wednesday as he told the inquiry, sitting in the Guildhall in Derry, that he was shot in the hip as he tried to take cover in Glenfada Park in the Bogside area of the city.

Mr Mahon, who was 16 on Bloody Sunday, said that as he lay wounded on the ground, there were two other people, William McKinney and Jim Wray, also lying injured close by.

'Terrified'

He said a soldier walked over to Mr Wray, saw his shoulders move, and shot him twice in the back at point blank range.

Mr Mahon said he was terrified and pretended to be dead in case the soldier shot him as well.

The witness said that he saw the same soldier walk into an alleyway leading into Abbey Park.

He heard more shots and said that when the soldier returned he said: "I've got another one."

Both Jim Wray and William McKinney died on Bloody Sunday.

The inquiry is continuing to hear evidence.

Search for facts

The Bloody Sunday Inquiry, chaired by Lord Saville of Newdigate, was established in 1998 by Prime Minister Tony Blair after a campaign by families of those killed and injured.

They felt that the Widgery Inquiry, held shortly after the shootings, did not find out the truth about what happened on Bloody Sunday.

The new inquiry has been sitting in public in Derry's Guildhall for more than a year and is expected to run for another two years.

Witnesses to the inquiry are immune from prosecution on issues arising from their evidence. It is aimed solely at establishing the facts of what happened.