Latest news with #SeanO'Reilly
Sunday World
15-05-2025
- Sunday World
Man charged with gun murder of Danny McClean and attempted murder of dissident republican
The suspect (50) is due in court today A man is due in court today charged with the murder of Danny McClean in Belfast more than four years ago. He is also accused of the attempted murder of taxi driver Sean O'Reilly in February. The suspect (50), who was arrested in north Belfast on Tuesday, has also been charged with firearms offences in relation to both incidents. He is expected to appear before Belfast Magistrates Court on Thursday morning Danny McClean Watch: Forensics at the scene of shooting in west Belfast The man had also been arrested on suspicion of the murder of Jim Donegan, also in Belfast, in December 2018, but he is not facing any charges in relation to this. As is usual procedure, all charges are reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service. The arrest of the suspect on Tuesday was made following a search by the PSNI's Major Investigation Team in north Belfast. Murder victim Danny McClean Detective Inspector Gina Quinn said: 'In respect of the attempted murder in west Belfast, a 49-year-old man was shot as he sat inside a taxi in the Bell Steel Manor area on the morning of Sunday 23 February. We believe two gunmen approached the vehicle on foot, and a number of shots were fired in a cold-blooded attack intended to kill. 'Danny McClean, aged 54, was murdered on the evening of 2 February 2021. He was shot a number of times by a gunman as he sat in a car parked in the driveway of a property on the Cliftonville Road in north Belfast. Jim 'JD' Donegan 'Jim Donegan, aged 43, was murdered as he waited, in his car, to collect his son from school. This was in the Glen Road area of west Belfast on the afternoon of 4 December 2018. Mr Donegan was shot several times by a gunman.' The attempted murder charge is in relation to dissident Sean O'Reilly. The attack on Mr O'Reilly sparked fears of a violent retaliation amid an escalating feud between members of the dissident gang Oglaigh na hEireann (ONH) earlier this year. Sean O'Reilly during the Republican Network for Unity Easter commemoration in Milltown cemetery on April 20 The victim was sitting in his car outside the taxi firm where he works in Poleglass when two masked men approached his vehicle shortly before 10.30am and fired multiple shots. The wounded driver was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital where and was initially described as being in critical but stable condition. Mr Donegan was shot dead in his Porsche car as he waited to collect his 13-year-old son outside St Mary's Christian Brothers School in 2018. A Police Ombudsman probe previously said the PSNI "missed opportunities" to identify the subject of a dissident republican threat six months before the killing – the watchdog found a failure by police to link him to intelligence it received about a threat on an unnamed man.
The Irish Sun
09-05-2025
- The Irish Sun
Probe launched after shock discovery of body close to finish line of Ireland's ‘largest outdoor sporting event'
POLICE in Antrim have confirmed they are investigating after a body was discovered this morning. The find was made in the Ballyreagh Road area of 2 The body was recovered by the coastguard and police Credit: Pacemaker Belfast 2 The body was found by a member of the public early this morning Credit: Pacemaker Belfast The location at Rinagree Point is near the race track of the North West 200 in It is understood the body was found close to the start/finish line of the motorcycle event by a member of the public, who informed event staff. The popular event is "Ireland's largest outdoor The racing event has been running from May 5 and continues until tomorrow May 10. READ MORE IN NEWS The In a statement a PSNI spokesperson said: "Police in Coleraine are investigating the discovery of a body in the Ballyreagh Road area of Portrush, following a report made shortly after 9.30am this morning, Friday 9th May. "There are no further details at this time." It is understood the HM Coastguard and cops were involved in the recovery of the body. Most read in Irish News Separately, the PSNI are seeking the public's help in locating two men believed to have been Sean O'Reilly, 49, survived after being shot twice while he sat inside his in the west of the city on February 23. PSNI chief slams 'hateful and criminal behaviour' from 'far-right' 'thugs' in Belfast Earlier this week, police issued CCTV images of two men they said they believe were involved in the case as part of an appeal. However Mr O'Reilly has questioned why the images were pixelated, adding that it seemed 'extremely counter-productive to request help in identifying the suspects while also obscuring their image'. His solicitor, Peter Corrigan of Phoenix Law, said they have 'serious concerns around the investigation'. He said: 'This is just the latest unusual occurrence in this investigation." 'We see no good reason why the PSNI would ask for help in identifying suspects and at the same time take steps to pixelate the faces of the suspects. 'One has to question the motive behind this and who the PSNI are seeking to protect. 'We will now add this to a long list of complaints already made to the Police Ombudsman in relation to the handling of the case.' INFORMATION APPEAL Responding, a PSNI spokesperson said: 'Detectives released still images of the two suspects with the aim of encouraging anyone with information, or footage, to come forward. 'In one of the images, the face of one suspect has been pixelated. This has been purposefully applied in order to prevent potential misidentification or retribution. 'Instead, it is hoped that both images, backed by the reward from Crimestoppers, will encourage anyone with information to get in touch using the appropriate channels. 'Detectives have made a particular ask, and would reiterate their appeal, to anyone with CCTV to check for similar images that may have been captured from the morning of Sunday 23 February. 'Anyone with information is asked to contact detectives on 101.'
The Irish Sun
08-05-2025
- The Irish Sun
New CCTV released in search of suspects in attempted of murder of Belfast man amid ‘serious concerns' over investigation
THE pixelation of the faces of two suspects in an appeal around the attempted murder of a man in Belfast earlier this year has been queried. Sean O'Reilly, 49, survived after being shot twice while he sat inside his Advertisement Earlier this week, police issued CCTV images of two men they said they believe were involved in the case as part of an appeal. However Mr O'Reilly has questioned why the images were pixelated, adding that it seemed 'extremely counter-productive to request help in identifying the suspects while also obscuring their image'. His solicitor, Peter Corrigan of Phoenix Law, said they have 'serious concerns around the investigation'. 'This is just the latest unusual occurrence in this investigation,' he said. Advertisement Read more in News 'We see no good reason why the 'One has to question the motive behind this and who the PSNI are seeking to protect. 'We will now add this to a long list of complaints already made to the Police Ombudsman in relation to the handling of the case.' Responding, a PSNI spokesperson said: 'Detectives released still images of the two suspects with the aim of encouraging anyone with information, or footage, to come forward. Advertisement Most read in Irish News 'In one of the images, the face of one suspect has been pixelated. This has been purposefully applied in order to prevent potential misidentification or retribution. 'Instead, it is hoped that both images, backed by the reward from Crimestoppers, will encourage anyone with information to get in touch using the appropriate channels. 'Detectives have made a particular ask, and would reiterate their appeal, to anyone with CCTV to check for similar images that may have been captured from the morning of Sunday 23 February. 'Anyone with information is asked to contact detectives on 101.' Advertisement 1 The pixelation of the faces of two suspects in an appeal around the attempted murder of a man in Belfast earlier this year has been queried
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
Police defend blurring suspect's face over taxi driver shooting
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has defended blurring the face of a suspect in the shooting of taxi driver Sean O'Reilly earlier this year. On Tuesday detectives released images of the two suspects with the aim of encouraging anyone with information, or footage, to come forward. Sean O'Reilly, 49, has questioned why the PSNI have released these images with the faces of the suspects pixelated, whilst at the same time asking the public to help identify them. Mr O'Reilly was shot twice as he sat inside his taxi in the Bell Steel Manor area of west Belfast on 23 February. He survived but underwent surgery to remove a bullet from his collarbone and repair a damaged nerve in his arm. He was said to be a member of Republican Network for Unity, a small political group with links to the dissident organisation Óglaigh na hÉireann. In a statement on behalf of Mr O'Reilly, his solicitor Peter Corrigan said: "We have serious concerns around the investigation into our clients attempted murder. "This is just the latest unusual occurrence in this investigation. We see no good reason why the PSNI would ask for help in identifying suspects and at the same time take steps to pixelate the faces of the suspects. "One has to question the motive behind this and who the PSNI are seeking to protect. We will now add this to a long list of complaints already made to the Police Ombudsman in relation to the handling of the case." In response, the PSNI said that "In one of the images, the face of one suspect has been pixelated. This has been purposefully applied in order to prevent potential misidentification or retribution. "Instead, it is hoped that both images, backed by the reward from Crimestoppers, will encourage anyone with information to get in touch using the appropriate channels. "Detectives have made a particular ask, and would reiterate their appeal, to anyone with CCTV to check for similar images that may have been captured from the morning of Sunday 23 February."
Sunday World
06-05-2025
- Sunday World
Police appeal for info over attempted murder of Belfast taxi driver – with €23k as reward
PICS RELEASED | 'Today, I'm releasing still images of two suspects. My hope is that the images will jog a memory or touch a conscience, and that anyone with information or footage will be encouraged to come forward.' The appeal is backed by a reward of up to £20,000 (€23,614) from the charity Crimestoppers. Sean O'Reilly (49) was shot as he sat inside a white Skoda Octavia taxi in the Bell Steel Manor area on February 23. PSNI Detective Inspector Gina Quinn said: 'The attack took place on a Sunday morning, 23 February, just before 10.30am. This was a ruthless and targeted attack, which was intended to take a man's life. It took place in broad daylight when anyone – any passers-by, including children – could easily have been injured or killed. 'Today, I'm releasing still images of two suspects. My hope is that the images will jog a memory or touch a conscience, and that anyone with information or footage will be encouraged to come forward.' Sean O'Reilly during the Republican Network for Unity Easter commemoration takes place in the Milltown Cemetery in west Belfast on April 20th 2025 (Photo by Kevin Scott) Detective Inspector Quinn continued: 'We believe the two gunmen approached the vehicle on foot from a path that runs between the Glenwood and Laurelbank areas. 'Having fired a number of shots at the victim, the two made off, again on foot, heading back via the same path, crossing the Stewartstown Road, and entering the Glasvey area. They then crossed the Twinbrook Road and entered the Gardenmore Road area. 'I'm asking you to take a look at the still images. The first image shows the two gunmen, one of whom is wearing a High-Vis yellow jacket. This image shows the men at around 9.50am. They're on their way to carry out the attack, which took place at approximately 10.25am. Read more 'The second image was taken at around 10.35am and shows the two men just after the shooting. Here, the yellow jacket has been discarded. 'We carried out searches in the Glasvey area and, on 27 February, seized a number of items including firearms, a Hi-Vis yellow jacket and dark-coloured baseball cap. We believe this is the jacket worn by one of the gunmen. All items are currently undergoing forensic testing.' Detective Inspector Quinn said she was making a 'direct appeal' to local people to share any footage, whether CCTV, dash cam or mobile phone footage. 'If, for example, you have CCTV, please check your footage between 9am and midday on Sunday 23 February. Might you have captured images similar to the ones released today? We know the gunmen waited in the Bell Steel Road area prior to the shooting. Did you see them, or indeed notice anything untoward?' New footage released as police hunt attempted murder suspects who shot Sean O'Reilly News in 90 Seconds - Tuesday, May 6th She added: 'The independent charity Crimestoppers is offering a reward of up to £20,000 for information received directly that leads to the arrest and conviction of any person or people linked to this attack. With Crimestoppers, calls are never recorded, there's no caller line display or 1471 facility, and computer IP addresses can never be traced. 'I am appealing to you to do the right thing and speak up. You can contact Crimestoppers directly, or share information with detectives on 101 or via the Major Incident Public Portal.'
