Dissident republican gun shot victim Jonathan Simpson
THIS is Jonathan Simpson the young man left for dead by ‘savage’ dissident republican gunman after they shot him in his thighs leaving him with life changing injuries.
The 23-year-old is recovering in hospital following what police describe as a “brutal” and “callous” attack in his Derry home.
He was shot in both thighs near his femoral arteries. He had been living under the shadow of a dissident republican death threat for a number of weeks.
When found by his mum, she thought he was dead as he lay in a pool of blood outside his home in Brandywell Road around 11 pm last night.
He had been shot in the living and then dragged outside the front door.
Paramedics rushed him to Altnagelvin Hospital before he was transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
Two men were involved in the incident and fled the scene on foot.
Local police boss Chief Inspector Tony Callaghan said the attack was “callous” and savage..
The victim’s mother Louise Simpson said she thought her youngest child was going to die in her arms.
Louise Simpson’s mum speaks out against the dissident republican gunmen who shot her son
“I was visiting friends in nearby Dove Gardens when I got a call last night that my son had been shot in my house. When I arrived home I could not believe what was before me. The living room floor was in a pool of blood and there were two massive blood clots on the floor. After the shot him they callously dragged him to the front door.
“An ambulance arrived and the paramedics said they were fighting to save Jonathan’s life, such was the scale of the blood loss.
“He was rushed to Altnagelvin Hospital but because of the serious nature of the injuries to his legs he was transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. In hospital in Derry in the accident and emergency department he kept crying out for me.
“How dare these people do this to my youngest child. They weren’t content with just shooting him in the legs, they deliberately targeted his femurs. He has been living under a death threat since October and the entire family has been living in fear since that threat against his life was issued. I thought the love of my life, my youngest child, was dead when I arrived home.
“It was a scene no mother should ever have to witness. I don’t know who did this but I hope they rot in hell because they are nothing but scum. My son had to be resuscitated when he was rushed to hospital, such was the life threatening nature of the gun shot wounds to his two legs.”
PSNI Chief Inspector Tony Callaghan said the victim was lucky to be alive.
He said: “This was a particularly callous incident. Even by the brutal standards of previous similar incidents, this was a particularly savage attack.
“Early indications are that this man sustained particularly severe wounds with potentially life changing injuries. This was not what some people call a ‘knee capping’. this young man sustained gun shot wounds to his femurs, a particularly dangerous part of the body in which to inflict gun shot wounds.
“There can be little doubt that these injuries could have killed, indeed there have been other incidents in which fatalities have occurred in similar circumstances. We believe that at least two gunmen were involved in this incident which occurred in the living room of this house at Brandywell Road. the suspected gunmen made their getaway in foot.”
Local Sinn Fein Councillor Kevin Campbell said it was obvious that the gunmen involved in the shooting did not care whether or not their victim would survive.
He added: “The community has made it clear they do not want this sort of violence in this city. They want those responsible to cease their activities immediately.
“This was a vicious and cruel attack and anyone with information about it should bring that information to the proper authorities.”
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