Gunfire heard before soldiers' reply, Inquiry told

Soldiers opened fire in Derry on Bloody Sunday after automatic gunfire was heard, the Saville Inquiry was told today.

The Inquiry heard for the second time this week that automatic fire rang out first in the city on the day 13 civilian civil rights marchers were shot dead.

Christopher Laird, a station sergeant, who was based in the city’s Diamond area on the day, said he heard the low velocity gunfire from the William Street area on January 30, 1972.

His evidence followed that of officers Neil Falkingham and Raymond Kirk, who yesterday claimed Paratroopers came under fire before they returned shots.

Mr Laird’s testimony today also came after that of Robert Whyte, a Belfast-based officer, who said he heard blast or nail bombs being thrown on the day, although he said he did not hear automatic gunfire.

Both men were screened from the public and press while giving their evidence on day 232 of the inquiry at the city’s Guildhall amid fears for their safety.

Mr Laird said he heard low velocity automatic gunfire before a gun battle broke out. He also said he heard the explosion of blast or nail bombs on the day.

“After hearing those first shots I heard the sound of nail bombs and baton rounds,” he said in a statement submitted to the inquiry.

“I assumed they went off in the same area as the automatic gunfire I had heard first, but I do not really know this.”

Mr Laird said he heard the “sharp cracks” of rifles fired by the Army, lower velocity shots from a gun of a different type, the “crump” of nail bombs and the “thud” of baton rounds on Bloody Sunday.

“However, I knew the sounds of gunfire well enough to get the impression that there was a gun battle going on because different shots seemed to be replying to one another,” he added.

He also said police officers were told to prepare for trouble at a briefing before the march.

“We always expected opportunists to have a shot at a policeman or a soldier so we were always careful never to expose ourselves to snipers,” he added.

Meanwhile, Mr Whyte, who had served in the police for 18 years, said he was stationed at the city’s Butcher Gate with orders to prevent marchers getting to the Diamond.

In a statement submitted to the inquiry, he said the Army came under attack from stone throwers at the barrier in Butcher Gate before they returned a single plastic baton round.

“Then, after a while, and I cannot be precise as to the time, I heard a bang or boom which sounded to me like a couple of nail or blast bombs going off,” he said.

“I think that this noise came from Fahan Street which was the other side (west) of the of the City Walls from where we were stationed. I think there were at least two explosions.

“I would have known the sound of a nail or blast bomb at the time and I have no doubt at all that that is what I heard.”

Under questioning from Arthur Harvey QC, counsel for many of the families of the dead and wounded, Mr Whyte admitted he could have been mistaken.

“I am not an explosives expert, I am expressing my opinion on that,” he said.

Mr Whyte also said he did not hear any automatic gunfire on the day, despite the other police officers having reported hearing it.

He also said he did not hear the Army firing around 100 shots nearby.