Skip to content

Appeal for 'specific witness' in shooting of off-duty officer

BBC A police car parked in a street in the snow.BBC
Police say they believe the suspect was dropped off by a red Vauxhall Astra

Police investigating the shooting of an off-duty officer want to speak to a man who is believed to have driven the suspect from the area.

A 29-year-old man has been charged in connection with the attack in Newtownabbey, County Antrim, on 6 January.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said: "The suspect in this case was picked up in the vicinity of Corrs Corner at around 9pm on the night of the shooting" by a man driving a red car.

Det Insp Lenaghan said: "The driver, who is being sought as a witness only, is understood to have been accompanied in the car by a young girl, possibly around 11 years old.

"The suspect was then dropped off by this vehicle, which is described as possibly being a red Vauxhall Astra, in the Manse Road area."

Kyle Knell, of Tynan Drive in Newtownabbey, faces nine charges in total, including attempted murder, false imprisonment, and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

The charges relate to an incident in the Fairview Avenue and Beverley Road areas of Newtownabbey on Monday evening, where the officer was shot, believed to be with the officer's own personal protection weapon.