Sunday Bloody Sunday Jan. 30, 1972 – still no arrests
Posted by Jim on January 19, 2018
The dead
Mural by the Bogside Artists depicting all who were killed by the British Army on the day
Belt worn by Patrick Doherty. The notch was made by the bullet that killed him.[48]
In all, 26 people were shot by the paratroopers; 13 died on the day and another died four months later. Most of them were killed in four main areas: the rubble barricade across Rossville Street, the courtyard car park of Rossville Flats (on the north side of the flats), the courtyard car park of Glenfada Park, and the forecourt of Rossville Flats (on the south side of the flats).[42]
All of the soldiers responsible insisted that they had shot at, and hit, gunmen or bomb-throwers. The Saville Report concluded that all of those shot were unarmed and that none were posing a serious threat. It also concluded that none of the soldiers fired in response to attacks, or threatened attacks, by gunmen or bomb-throwers.[49]
The casualties are listed in the order in which they were killed
John ‘Jackie’ Duddy,
age 17.
Shot as he ran away from soldiers in the car park of Rossville Flats.[42] The bullet struck him in the shoulder and entered his chest. Three witnesses said they saw a soldier take deliberate aim at the youth as he ran.[42] He was the first fatality on Bloody Sunday.[42] Like Saville, Widgery also concluded that Kelly was unarmed.[42] His nephew is boxer John Duddy.
Michael Kelly,
age 17
Shot in the stomach while standing at the rubble barricade on Rossville Street. Both Saville and Widgery concluded that Kelly was unarmed.[42
Hugh Gilmour
age 17
Shot through his left elbow, the bullet then entering his chest[50] as he ran away from the paratroopers near the rubble barricade on Rossville Street.[42] Widgery acknowledged that a photograph taken seconds after Gilmour was hit corroborated witness reports that he was unarmed, and that tests for gunshot residue were negative.[5]
William Nash,
age 19
Shot in the chest at the rubble barricade. Witnesses stated Nash was unarmed.[42] Three people were shot while apparently going to his aid, including his father Alexander Nash.[51]
John Young,
age 17
Shot in the face at the rubble barricade, apparently while crouching and going to the aid of William Nash.[51] Two witnesses stated Young was unarmed.[42]
Michael McDaid,
age 20
Shot in the face at the rubble barricade, apparently while crouching and going to the aid of William Nash.[51]
Kevin McElhinney,
age 17
Shot from behind, near the rubble barricade, while attempting to crawl to safety. Two witnesses stated McElhinney was unarmed.[42]
James ‘Jim’ Wray,
age 22
Shot in the back while running away from soldiers in Glenfada Park courtyard. He was then shot again in the back as he lay mortally wounded on the ground. Witnesses, who were not called to the Widgery Tribunal, stated that Wray was calling out that he could not move his legs before he was shot the second time.[42]
William McKinney,
age 26
Shot in the back[52] as he attempted to flee through Glenfada Park courtyard.[53][54]
Gerard McKinney,
age 35
Shot in the chest at Abbey Park. A soldier ran through an alleyway from Glenfada Park and shot him from a few yards away. Witnesses said that when he saw the soldier, McKinney stopped and held up his arms, shouting “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!”, before being shot. The bullet apparently went through his body and struck Gerard Donaghy behind him.[42]
age 17
Shot in the stomach at Abbey Park while standing behind Gerard McKinney. Both were apparently struck by the same bullet. Bystanders brought Donaghy to a nearby house, where he was examined by a doctor. The doctor opened Donaghy’s clothes to examine him, and his pockets were also searched for identification. Two bystanders then attempted to drive Donaghy to hospital, but the car was stopped at an Army checkpoint. They were ordered to leave the car and a soldier drove it to a Regimental Aid Post, where an Army medical officer pronounced Donaghy dead.
Shortly after, soldiers found four nail bombs in his pockets. The civilians who searched him, the soldier who drove him to the Army post, and the Army medical officer, all said that they did not see any bombs. This led to claims that soldiers planted the bombs on Donaghy to justify the killings. Donaghy was a member of Fianna Éireann, an IRA-linked republican youth movement.[42] Paddy Ward, a police informer[55] who gave evidence at the Saville Inquiry, claimed he gave two nail bombs to Donaghy several hours before he was shot.[56] The Saville Report concluded that the bombs were probably in Donaghy’s pockets when he was shot. However, it concluded that he was not about to throw a bomb when he was shot; and that he was not shot because he had bombs. “He was shot while trying to escape from the soldiers”.[42]
Patrick Doherty,
age 31
Shot from behind while attempting to crawl to safety in the forecourt of Rossville Flats. He was shot by soldiers who came out of Glenfada Park. Doherty was photographed, moments before and after he died, by French journalist Gilles Peress. Despite testimony from “Soldier F” that he had shot a man holding a pistol, Widgery acknowledged that the photographs show Doherty was unarmed, and that forensic tests on his hands for gunshot residue proved negative.[42][57]
Bernard ‘Barney’ McGuigan,
age 41
Shot in the head when he walked out from cover to help Patrick Doherty. He had been waving a white handkerchief to indicate his peaceful intentions.[5][42]
John Johnston,
age 59
Shot in the leg and left shoulder on William Street 15 minutes before the rest of the shooting started.[42][58] Johnston was not on the march, but on his way to visit a friend in Glenfada Park.[58] He died on 16 June 1972; his death has been attributed to the injuries he received on the day. He was the only one not to die immediately or soon after being shot.