Two detained following poll booth shooting

Two men are being questioned by the RUC about a gun attack on a polling station in which two officers and a woman were injured.

The men were detained in a follow-up operation in the hours after the attack, which took place in County Derry, minutes before the polls closed.

The injured are all in a stable condition in hospital.

One RUC officer was wounded in the shoulder. His colleague was struck in the arm and a young woman was also hit in the leg during the attack.

The shooting, outside St Mary's Primary School in Draperstown, took place at around 9.45pm last night.

A gunman stepped out of a car and, using crowds of people queuing outside the polling station as cover, opened fire on the two officers standing guard in the doorway.

Despite being injured, one of the officers was able to shoot back, his commander revealed.

RUC District Commander, Superintendent Terry Shevlin, condemned the shooting as "an attack against democracy in Northern Ireland".

He added: "These police officers were engaged in protecting people's right to vote."

Those responsible had shown "the most violent disregard for democracy", he said.

The attacker is believed to have fled the scene in a silver Volkswagen Passat.

A similar car was found burned out outside Draperstown later.

The shooting was condemned by Northern Secretary Dr John Reid who claimed it showed "the total contempt for democracy that these people have.

"They have no principles. They have no mandate and they dare not seek a mandate because what they represent has been rejected time and again by the people of Ireland, north and south."

Dr Reid extended his sympathy to the injured. Mr Shevlin said it is not clear at this stage which paramilitary group was responsible for the gun attack.

There had been warnings in recent days that dissident republicans were planning either a gun or bomb attack in Northern Ireland or mainland Britain during the election campaign.

The shooting overshadowed a heavy day of polling throughout the North Ireland as people cast their votes in the Westminster and local government elections.

Unionist and nationalist parties reported a strong turnout throughout the 18 constituencies, with queues forming at polling stations in some key constituencies.

There were reports in South and West Belfast and West Tyrone of people being turned away from polling stations because they were unable to cast their votes in time before the close of polls at 10pm.

Sinn Fein national chairman Mitchel McLaughlin complained to Northern Ireland's Chief Electoral Officer Dennis Stanley about the problems experienced at some polling stations during voting for the two elections.

Counting in Northern Ireland's 18 constituencies is getting under way.