Soldier fired at fleeing man, witness claims

A witness said yesterday he went into shock after he watched a soldier shoot a fleeing man at close range without shouting any…

A witness said yesterday he went into shock after he watched a soldier shoot a fleeing man at close range without shouting any warning.

Mr John Shiels, in his statement, said that soon afterwards he came upon a Civil Rights banner in the street, covered in blood.

He added: "There was a young lad walking around who showed me a human eyelid, which he had put in a matchbox. He told me that he had picked the eyelid off a wall. He told me he was now looking for a priest to give the eyelid to."

The witness said that, after hearing the first shots that day, he had taken refuge in a flat overlooking the car-park of Glenfada Park North. When he looked out, he saw two people, whom he presumed to be dead, lying near the south-west exit from this area.

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He saw a man run across the car-park. A soldier appeared, lifted his rifle, took aim at the running man and shot him. The man immediately fell forward and did not move.

Mr Shiels said the man had nothing in his hands and he had not heard any warning. A Knight of Malta volunteer came forward towards the man, but the soldier who had fired also went forward and refused to allow the first aid person to tend to the body.

The inquiry was shown a Military Police statement allegedly made by a soldier who was in Glenfada Park, in which the soldier stated: "I am reasonably sure I shot this man in a full-scale riot in Glenfada flats . . . for being in possession of nail-bombs."

Another witness, Mr James Green, said he and others were behind the rubble barricade in Rossville Street and when soldiers entered the street they began to throw stones at them. The soldiers then began shooting.