Sara Canning making an emotional address to large crowd in Creggan over the brutal murder of her partner Lyra McKee last night
The 29-year-old lived with partner Sara Canning in the area when she was gunned down by a dissident republican terrorist who fired up to ten shots towards police lines.
Lyra was standing at the side of a police landrover when she was struck by the bullets fired by a lone gunman lurking in the shadows.
The shooting came around 11 pm as police were carrying out searches in the area looking for explosives and firearms.
They came under attack by a mob of up to 100 who fired up to 50 petrol bombs along with fireworks and other missiles at police.
PSNI officers administered first aid to Lyra at the scene before rushing in the back of a police landrover to Altnagelvin Hospital where she tragically died from her injuries.
Police say although one gunman was involved in firing the shots, they believe others were involved in the murder operation.
Addressing the massive crowd who had gathered at Fanad Drive, a very tearful Sara said: “The senseless murder of Lyra McKee has left a family without a beloved daughter, a sister, an aunt and a great aunt.
“It has left so many friends without their confidante.
“Victims in the LGBTQIA community are left without a tireless advocate and activist, and it has left me without the love of my life, the woman I was planning to grow old with.
“We are all poorer for the loss of Lyra.
“Her hopes and dreams, and all of her amazing potential was snuffed out by a single barbaric act.
“This cannot stand.
“Lyra’s death must not be in vain because her life was a shining light in everyone’s else’s life and her legacy will live on in the light that she has left behind,” she added.
Her speech was met with a huge sympathetic applause from the amassed people.
Speaking in Derry, SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said party stood “resolutely against the violence witnessed on our streets last night”.
“I want make something very, very clear: the enemies of Derry are not the police officers who put Lyra in the back of a landrover, drove through a burning barricade to try to save her life.
Murdered journalist Lyra McKee shot dead in Derry by dissident republicans
“We want to make it very clear here today that your time is over.
“We own this peace process and we are not giving up on this peace process.
“We are going to keep moving forward no matter how hard you try to stop us.
“Our politics have failed and we have to fix it. We have to take the poison out of the political conversation and we have to start moving back together again.
“That’s the best message we can send those people: we are not going down into the gutter with them.
“We are going to rise up and walk together again. Thank you very much.”
Tags: