A number of homes in the Ederowen Park area of Galliagh have been evacuated due to a security alert.
The alert follows the arrest of on the run murder suspect Kieran McLaughlin at nearby Fern Park in the early hours of this morning. Army technical officers (ATO) are currently at the scene and a remote controlled bomb disposal unit has been deployed,
Around 30 families have been moved from their homes. The nearby St Joseph’s Community Playgroup has been advised to close and parents arriving with their children are being told to take them home again.
The 58-year-old was armed when he was detained hiding behind a car in Fern Park. No shots were fired and no one was injured.
McLaughlin was spotted earlier in the night driving a silver car just across the border in Donegal and hunted by Gardai. PSNI officers took over the chase when he crossed the border.
After stealing another car McLaughlin was traced to Fern Park where he was arrested by specially trained PSNI firearms officers.
He was taken to the PSNI’s serious crime suite in Antrim for questioning.
The area around where McLaughlin was arrested remains sealed off by the PSNI who have confirmed a firearm has been recovered. They are currently carrying out a search for a possible second gun.
McLaughlin, from the Galliagh area, had been on the run since the murder of 35-year-old Barry McCrory in Derry on Thursday last.
McCrory, a father of a nine-year-old boy, was shot dead by a lone gunman in flat in Shipquay Street. Following an extensive search in the Galliagh area on the night of the shooting, police took the unusual step of releasing a photograph and releasing the name of McLaughlin as the man they wanted to speak to in relation to the killing.
Over 100 police officers were involved in the hunt for the former INLA member and appeals were made by his family and the police to turn himself in.
Tags:
