'I thought they were rubber bullets - until boy died'

A man told today how he believed the Army was firing rubber bullets on Bloody Sunday, until he saw a youth lying dead that day.

Patrick McKeever described watching the young victim fall to the ground in the car park of Derry’s Rossville Flats and realising: "It was quite clear the boy was beyond redemption."

The shooting happened in the same area as the shooting of Jackie Duddy, the youth later filmed being carried away with the then Fr Edward Daly leading the way, waving a blood-stained handkerchief.

Mr Duddy was one of the 13 Catholics shot dead on Bloody Sunday, January 30 1972, when Paratroopers opened fire during a civil rights demonstration.

Giving evidence to the Saville Inquiry re-examining the killings, Mr McKeever, 63, described running down Chamberlain Street in the Bogside as the troops entered the Bogside district, shaking off a soldier who tried to grab him and seeing another fire a round.

By the time he reached the bottom of the street more shots had rung out and he said: "I would say that I heard about 10 to 12 shots in the time that it took me to run from William Street to the end of Chamberlain Street.

"At this stage I still thought that rubber bullets were being fired."

He was running across the car park when "a young fellow who was running ... fell to the ground", he said.

"We ran on for a few yards and then stopped and turned back to check that he was okay. There were two other people bending over him and they weren’t saying anything.

"We asked if we could help but it was clear that the boy was beyond redemption. Within a few seconds of seeing the boy, it was clear that he was dead.

"Up until this stage I thought the Army had been using rubber bullets. After seeing the boy, it was clear that this was not the case."

Mr McKeever also told the hearing in the Guildhall in Derry that soldiers in another regiment sympathised with him the day after Bloody Sunday and complained about the Paras.

He claimed he was stopped in a car and threatened to walk away if the troops started to search the vehicle.

Mr McKeever said: "I think it was the sergeant in the group who said words to the effect, 'I can understand exactly how you feel. Those bloody Para bastards came into the town, did the killing and are now celebrating in Belfast and we have to take the flak'."