Calls for restraint prevailed, in spite of local pressure for immediate retaliation against the army after the Bloody Sunday killings, a witness told the inquiry yesterday.
Mr Kevin Barrett said he was at the shops in the Creggan, where there was quite a few people on the evening of the shootings.
"The feeling, mainly amongst the young boys, was that steps should be taken to retaliate against the army," he said.
There were guns available that night. He saw a sniper's rifle lying across the back seat of a car.
However, he added, "despite the strong feelings among some people, there were others - IRA members I believe - who urged restraint. In the end, their views prevailed."
He said he got the impression, from talking to various people there that evening, that the guns he saw there had not been used earlier in the day.
There was no mention of guns being used in the afternoon and he would have expected to hear about that if it was the case.
Another witness, Ms Susan Doherty, described how she witnessed the shooting of Barney McGuigan as she sheltered on a nearby stairwell and peered out through wooden slats.
She saw a man with his hands in the air waving a white hankie. A soldier walking up Rossville Street stopped and turned towards the man. Moments later the soldier dropped onto one knee and fired across the street at Mr McGuigan. She remembered seeing the recoil of the rifle.
The soldier then calmly stood up and continued walking as if nothing had happened, she said - "This shooting sticks out in my head because of the way that the soldier did it. It seemed so cold blooded."
Mrs Doherty said that, while walking home that night with her sister, they passed some soldiers gathered at the back of St Eugene's Cathedral, some of whom were arguing and fighting amongst themselves.
One of the soldiers shouted "We have killed the Fenian bastards today" and her sister retorted: "Women and weens (children) today too".
She said that one soldier grabbed another by the throat and pushed him against the railings. He said to the other soldier: "It's all right, you bastards are going home tonight; we're staying".
The inquiry continues today.