THE FUNERAL took place yesterday of a teenager whose death last week on a railway line near Portrush, Co Antrim, is now being treated as murder by the PSNI.
Ryan Quinn (14) died after he was struck by a train last Friday evening.
The PSNI is investigating reports that the he was being threatened prior to his death and ran into the path of the oncoming train in an attempt to escape his pursuers. Three men and a youth were arrested and released on bail.
The PSNI believes an altercation took place in a nearby bar which precipitated the events that led to the boy’s death. A PSNI spokeswoman asked witnesses to come forward. No charges are anticipated at this stage.
The teenager’s funeral was held at St John’s Church in Coleraine, Co Derry. School principal Ronnie Kelly described him as an “excellent young man”.
SDLP Assembly member for the area John Dallat appealed for witnesses to help the PSNI in its investigation, and said the death had left the family heartbroken. He called the death “a horror story”.
“We need to know what led up to the terrible death he suffered and how he became trapped on the railway line, screaming on his mobile phone for help as the train approached,” he said.