Former paratrooper Soldier F is currently on trial at Belfast Crown Court and he is attending the non-jury hearing from behind a blue curtain which conceals his identity.
A Derry man today (Friday) described how he told a man wounded on Bloody Sunday to ‘pretend you’re dead’ just before he was shot again and killed.
Malachy Coyle – who was a 15-year old schoolboy when he attended the Civil Rights march in the Bogside area of Derry in January 1972 – also described how he heard a soldier tell a crowd ‘I’m going to shoot you, you Irish b******s’.
13 people were shot and killed by the British Army’s parachute regiment following the march on the afternoon of Sunday January 30, 1972.
READ MORE: Man recalls being shot in the face as he tried to flee during Bloody SundayREAD MORE: Victim pretended to be dead after being shot on Bloody Sunday, trial hears
Former paratrooper Soldier F is currently on trial at Belfast Crown Court and he is attending the non-jury hearing from behind a blue curtain which conceals his identity.
He had denied murdering James Wray (22) and 26-year old William McKinney as well as a further five counts of attempted murder.
Mr Coyle took to the witness stand today and confirmed that he attended the Civil Rights march with two friends.
Saying he was a 15-year old schoolboy doing his O Levels at the time, Mr Coyle said that after attending Mass that morning he called for his friends then they joined the start of the march.
Mr Coyle said that after approached the junction of William Street and Rossville Street, there were “rumours about a man being shot” and there was “a bit of tension about.”
He recalled that stones were being thrown by people in a crowd and rubber bullets and gas being deployed by the Army.
Saying at this point he had lost his two friends, Mr Coyle said “there was a hell of a lot of CS gas” which caused him to throw up. “I couldn’t breathe, basically”, he said.
Following this, Mr Coyle said he was “milling around” with other people then he heard “high velocity shots.”
When asked by Crown barrister Louis Mably KC what he heard, Mr Coyle said: “It seemed to be one and then seemed to build up from that.”
Describing himself as “frightened” at this point, Mr Coyle said he started running with a crowd towards Glenfada Park North.
Mr Coyle said that as he ran, he was pulled into a back yard by an older man.
Whilst in the yard, My Coyle said he “tried to hide”. He said that he could see through slats in the fence where he saw soldiers in the courtyard.
When asked what else he saw, Mr Coyle said: “I looked around an I saw three people lying near the walkway.
“My attention was drawn to the one who was closest. He was alive. He looked up, he turned his head and looked and he said ‘I can’t move my legs.’
“I thought the other two people, I thought they were dead. They weren’t moving so I thought, I assumed they were dead.”
When Mr Mably asked if he said anything to the man who was alive, Mr Coyle replied: “I did, aye. I got frightened for him and I says ‘don’t move, pretend you’re dead.'”
Asked if he heard anything after that, the witness said: “Another shot and he gave a groan and his head went down.
“He was shot. I could see the sparks underneath, on the pavement”
Mr Mably then asked if the man spoke after and Mr Coyle said “no, he was gone.”
The man referred to by Mr Coyle was James Wray.
Mr Coyle said that following this, from his position in the back yard he saw a soldier with a rifle who looked “very dangerous”.
Describing this soldier as “angry … unstable”, Mr Coyle said he heard him tell a group of people ‘I’m going to shoot you, you Irish b******s.’
Mr Coyle said people in the crowd were saying ‘please don’t shoot, don’t shoot’ and shortly after he and the other man left the backyard with their hands up.
He said he then saw the “dangerous” soldier fire at a man who was running away in Glenfada Park North and at that point “self-preservation kicked in and I ran to the walkway and out through Abbey Park.”
Mr Coyle then confirmed to defence barrister Mark Mulholland that he didn’t see who shot Mr Wray as he lay on the ground and that he was not shot after exiting the back yard.
Judge Patrick Lynch KC also heard a number of statements from others who were present in the Bogside that afternoon.
This included one from a man who helped carry William McKinney into a house in Abbey Park after he had been shot in Glenfada Park North.
Donald Campbell, who was 18 at the time, recalled seeing soldiers moving about on foot and the sound of gunfire.
He recalled running then huddling with a group including Mr McKinney, who he said was well dressed and had a camera with him.
In his statement, Mr Campbell said he saw a priest and ambulance arrive then Mr McKinney “jumped up and ran” and joined a group of people surrounding a body on the ground.
Mr Campbell said Mr McKinney “leaned over to look at the body and then suddenly fell down fairly near to it.
“I could not tell why he had fallen down, I did not hear a shot that I could associate with him falling. He rolled onto his back.”
Mr Campbell said he started running and saw a soldier who was “alone and appeared dazed.”
When he reached where Mr McKinney was lying on the ground, Mr Campbell said he was “conscious and complaining of a pain in his back.”
Mr Campbell said he helped carry Mr McKinney into a house and observed blood on his shirt and that “he recognised me and called me young Campbell.
“He took his watch off and gave it to me and said ‘keep that, I’ll never see it again.'”
Mr Campbell said a doctor then arrived at the house and that he gave Mr McKinney’s watch to his family.
At hearing
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