British may have used illegal bullets on Bloody Sunday
A doctor who treated the victims of Bloody Sunday has told the inquiry into the massacre that he believes the British army used illegal "dum-dum" bullets to attack Catholic civilians in Derry.
Dr Raymond McClean, a founder member of the SDLP, said bullet entry wounds on the dead and injured were larger than usual, suggesting that the bullets used could have been tampered with.
"Dum-dum" bullets, which are reshaped or softened to cause maximum injury, were outlawed by the Geneva Convention in 1933.
Dr McClean, who attended the autopsies of the 13 people shot dead by British soldiers on January 30, 1972, said one of the victims, Kevin McElhinney, may have been shot by a sniper because his wound suggested a different calibre weapons was used.
Catholic residents in Derry have often told how they saw gunfire coming from the city walls on Bloody Sunday, but the British have denied that they fired shots from these positions.
Dr McClean told the inquiry that the autopsy of another victim, Jim Wray, showed that he was shot in the legs by a first bullet before being finished off with a bullet in the back.
The doctor said the events of Bloody Sunday led to people queuing in the streets to join the IRA. “The three days after Bloody Sunday were like a wake,” he said.
“There was a lot of anger and talk that peaceful means of protest were over. The events of Bloody Sunday gave the Provisional IRA a major boost. I believe that people queued in the Bogside area to join the IRA.”
