Dissident republican group the New IRA is the primary focus of detectives investigating the shooting of a police detective in Northern Ireland, the force has said.
An off-duty police officer shot by masked men in Omagh, Co Tyrone, has been named as Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell.
DCI Caldwell was shot a number of times at the facility in Omagh around 8pm on Wednesday.
He was taken to Altnagelvin Hospital in Londonderry where Northern Ireland’s chief constable Simon Byrne said he was in a critical but stable condition.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) have launched an attempted murder investigation.
Temporary detective chief superintendent Eamonn Corrigan said: “Our investigation is now underway and I would appeal to anyone who was in the area and witnessed what happened or could help with our enquiries to make contact with police on 101.”
Assistant Chief Constable Mark McEwan said: “If I may just express my own and our shock and outrage at this disgusting attack against a police officer in a crowded space in front of parents and children.”
“John has ran a short distance and he’s fallen to the ground, and as he’s on the ground the gunmen have continued to fire at him.
“That shows the absolute callous nature of this attack in a crowded space where there are children and parents in the vicinity, and we saw many of those young people and children running in sheer terror to get to safety.”
He said the investigation is at an early stage and that police believe the gunmen made off in a small dark car which was later found burned out just outside Omagh.
Mr McEwan was asked on BBC Radio Ulster if there is a concern for wider security and safety, and whether action would be taken to improve security for some police officers.
He replied: “On an ongoing basis, we see these elements continually trying to carry out attacks of this nature.
“We are supporting our officers and staff. We continually review our security arrangements and advise our officers on security arrangements and that’s on an ongoing basis.
“The threat level at the moment sits at substantial and that means an attack is highly likely.
“That is an ongoing piece of work in terms of supporting our officers and staff and looking at security arrangements.”
The principal of Omagh High School, whose students were at the scene where an off-duty police officer was shot, has said that violence must be “pushed away from our community”.
“I can only imagine how difficult it must be for the youngsters this morning, waking up in the aftershock of what they experienced last night,” Christos Gaitatzis told BBC Radio Ulster.
“I feel that those people affected here last night were my children, were my family. We really need to get together as a community in order to make sure that these types of instances, that contain violence in the most heinous way I can describe, have to be pushed away from our community.”
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