Soldier questioned over bar shooting
Detectives tonight questioned a part-time soldier about the shooting dead of a Catholic customer at a bar in Northern Ireland.
Colin Foy, aged 27, was hit twice in the Four Ways Hotel at Fivemiletown, Co Tyrone.
One bullet narrowly missed a barmaid and shattered a mirror behind the counter.
Hotel owner Eric Armstrong said tonight: ‘‘Everybody thought somebody had thrown a Hallowe’en firework when they heard the bang. But it turned out to be a nightmare.’’
In a separate shooting at Craigavon, Co Armagh, a teenager on the run from a young offenders centre and who had been the victim of a so-called punishment shooting three months ago, was gunned down as he watched television with friends.
Peter Joseph McNally, aged 19, went missing after failing to return from parole last June. Police believe he was a victim of a fallout among criminals.
The soldier questioned about Mr Foy’s killing is a member of the Royal Irish Regiment. He was detained and a handgun recovered when he walked into a police station in the neighbouring village of Clogher.
Mr Foy from Aghafad, Fivemiletown, had been a regular in the bar where he was shot just as a disco was about to end at midnight. There were up to 70 people on the premises at the time.
It is understood the soldier being questioned had been drinking cider in the bar as well.
Mr Armstrong said: ‘‘I just wish I knew what caused this. There had been no animosity, no rows, no arguments, nothing. I can’t any reason in this wide world why it should have happened.
‘‘Had there been any trouble, I would have been on top of it. Both these men would have known each other. This is a very, very mixed (religion) bar, and we’ve had no problems.
‘‘No matter what the occasion - GAA (gaelic football) matches or the 12th of July - everybody is here to enjoy themselves. This is a social centre where people congregate and socialise.
‘‘Everybody was caught totally unawares. They thought it was some sort of firecracker.’’
Meanwhile, the RUC were also questioning two men, aged 47 and 27, about the killing of the teenager in Craigavon early today.
Last July, after absconding from the Hydebank Young Offenders Centre in Belfast, he was wounded in the arms and legs in a so-called punishment shooting. The next day his home in Craigavon was badly damaged by fire.
