PSNI officer murder accused to face court today

A man will appear in court today charged with murdering a policeman in the North.

The suspect (aged 37) is also accused of possession of a firearm with the intent to endanger life following the shooting death of Constable Stephen Carroll (aged 48) earlier this month.

The dissident republican Continuity IRA claimed responsibility for the killing in Craigavon, Co Armagh.

Yesterday, a 17-year-old boy was charged with the murder.

He was armed with an assault rifle and more than 25 bullets on the night of the killing, the court heard.

As well as being charged with possession of the firearm with intent, he was also accused of being a member of the Continuity IRA and collecting information likely to be of use to terrorists.

PC Carroll, from Banbridge, Co Down, was gunned down while answering a call from a woman who had a brick thrown through her window.

He was shot in the back of the head as he sat in the driver's seat of an unmarked police car while his colleague approached the house.

His killing came two days after the murder of two soldiers - Sappers Mark Quinsey, 23, from Birmingham, and Patrick Azimkar, 21, from London - outside an army barracks in Antrim.