The Bloody Sunday Inquiry has heard a claim by one of the men shot by British paratroopers that soldiers were just shooting at anything, like herrings in a barrel. The three judges on the Tribunal were told the claim was made by John Johnston who died of a brain tumour five months after being wounded in Derry on January 30 1972. Mr Johnston, who was 59, was shot along with 15 year-old Damien Donaghy on waste ground off William Street in the city.
This morning a British Army soldier, who may have shot the first casualty on Bloody Sunday, said that he fired with the intention to kill the man. The claim emerged as the Saville Inquiry began examining the circumstances surrounding the shootings of Damien Donaghy and John Johnston, who were both wounded some time before the bulk of the shootings that resulted in the deaths of fourteen people.
The paratrooper, known as Soldier A, said that he was positioned in a derelict building on William Street when he saw two black bean-can type objects flying past him before he heard them explode. He claimed that the man he was firing at was about to throw a nail bomb. Under the British Army's Yellow Card rules, he had authority to open fire. He said that he aimed for the man's stomach area with every intention of killing him.
The evidence came as counsel to the Inquiry, Christopher Clarke QC, continued his opening statement. Soldier A said that he fired two shots, the first missed, but the second hit the man, 15-year-old Damien Donaghy, who survived. He described how Mr Donaghy's body went up and back with his hands in the air. Without sounding flippant, he said that it was like something they do in the movies due to the force of the 7.62 round, which, he said, really did send shockwaves.
Earlier the inquiry heard that the only British soldier to be injured on Bloody Sunday had actually shot himself. His rifle was resting on his foot, when he began playing with the safety catch. The bullet went straight through his foot, but he subsequently admitted lying about the incident as he was advised by colleagues to say that he been running down stairs and the bullet was discharged accidentally. Counsel for the Inquiry said that it was up to the Tribunal to decide if this shot was the one that soldiers claim was the first to be fired at them on the day from Rossville Flats.
