1992 Falls Road Office shooting
Part of the Troubles
Sinn Féin‘s Falls Road Office
LocationBelfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
DateFebruary 4, 1992
c. 1:15 p.m. (GMT)
TargetSinn Féin workers and activists
Attack type
mass shooting, murder–suicide
WeaponPump-action shotgun
Deaths4 (including perpetrator)
Injured2
PerpetratorJames Allen Moore

The 1992 Falls Road Office shooting, also known as the 1992 Sinn Féin Headquarters shooting or the Sevastopol Street shooting, was a mass shooting committed by an off-duty RUC officer on 4 February 1992, at Sinn Féin's Falls Road office on Sevastopol Street in Belfast.[1]

Shooting

An off-duty anti-terrorist[2] member of the RUC's Divisional Mobile Support Unit (DMSU) from Comber, James Allen Moore (24) would enter the Falls Road office at around 1:15 p.m. and would open fire on the workers and civilians inside, shooting a total of five people, killing three.[1][3]

While Moore attempted to leave a stalwart from the neighboring Green Cross Art Shop, Marguerite Gallagher attempted to prevent him from leaving, she held on to him until Moore got to his car where Moore pushed her off of him.[4]

At around 1:30 p.m. people trying to give aid to the wounded were assaulted by responding officers, resulting in a pregnant woman punched in her stomach with a riffle butt.[1]

After making a phone call to the RUC from a pub to claim responsibility,[2] Moore drove around 15 miles to Lough Neagh, where he would commit suicide.[1]

Victims

The attack would result in the deaths of Patrick ‘Pat’ McBride (41), Michael O'Dwyer (21), and Patrick ‘Paddy’ Loughran (61).[1][3]

Two people were severely wounded during the attack those being Patrick ‘Pat’ Wilson (28) and Norah ‘Kate’ Larkin.[1]

Legacy

On the shootings 25th anniversary in 2017, then Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams would criticize the British government, saying "The attack on the Falls Road Sinn Fein office, like other similar attacks, were part of British government counter insurgency strategies aimed at suppressing dissent to British rule."[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 USA, Friends of Sinn Féin (2022-02-04). "30 Years Ago Today. RUC Member Killed Three in Sinn Féin Office Attack". Friends of Sinn Féin. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  2. 1 2 Archives, L. A. Times (1992-02-05). "Belfast Police Officer Kills 3, Self". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  3. 1 2 "The "Perfect Killer" ?". ANF News. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  4. ↑ Adams, Gerry (2021-02-06). "Two Deadly Days In February 1992". Friends of Sinn Féin. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
  5. ↑ "Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams criticises government at tribute to shooting victims". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. 2017-02-06. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
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