Northern Ireland

Belfast man killed by Army was 'innocent'

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A Catholic man shot dead by the Army 40 years ago in Northern Ireland was innocent, a report has said.

Billy McKavanagh, 21, was gunned down as he ran away when confronted by soldiers near Belfast city centre, a report from the Historic Enquiries Team (HET) said. He was shot in the back.

Mr McKavanagh was shot dead by a soldier from the 1st Battalion, the Royal Green Jackets in Catherine Street in the Markets area in the early hours of August 11 1971.

He had no criminal convictions or connection with any illegal organisation.

The soldier responsible maintains that the person he shot was armed. The HET said he was not carrying the weapon, a rivet gun which had been looted and left lying in the street in August 1971 and was picked up by members of Mr McKavanagh's group.

The HET is a team of detectives investigating conflict murders.

The victim's family has called for an army apology.

At the time, the situation in Belfast was extremely tense, with internment without trial introduced two days previously and spiralling violence making a highly-charged situation even worse.

The Official IRA had taken over Inglis bakery near the scene of the shooting and used vehicles from the bakery to barricade key routes, restricting security force movements and deterring loyalist incursions.

Soldiers surrounded the bakery and closed in, having been briefed to expect IRA patrols and look-outs. Property had been looted and left strewn across the street and the three young men picked up some of the discarded items, including the waders and a rivet gun.

The HET said they panicked when they saw the soldiers and ran away. Members of the army patrol later claimed that an explosive device was thrown towards them, possibly by a fourth man, but no evidence was found of this.

When interviewed by army investigators, the soldier said he thought the men were terrorists and one of them had what looked like a rifle. When interviewed by the HET last year, he said he thought the man he shot had been carrying a Thompson sub machine gun.

The soldier is adamant he hit the person who was carrying the gun, believed by investigators to be a rivet gun used in industry.

The victim's brother Patrick was adamant that he had the gun and not Billy during evidence at the inquest.

The HET added it was not possible to judge whether the soldier was following the army's guidelines.

Patrick McKavanagh and Mr Rooney were badly beaten by the soldiers, who took them to a nearby barracks. Soldier A told the HET the pair received severe facial injuries. No police investigation has been uncovered into the assaults.

The report concluded: "It is our hope that this report sets out the circumstances of Billy's death clearly and will allow for the consideration of an apology at government level.

Oliver Morris, brother-in-law of the victim, welcomed the report for vindicating their loved one's innocence. "I would be very disappointed, on behalf of the family, if we did not get a full apology on behalf of the Government," he said.

He blamed the killing on army "jitters" but said at the time the area was quiet.

The victim's twin sister Margaret Duffy was almost too emotional to speak. "We are doing it for our mother and our deceased Patrick, but most of all we are doing it for Billy," she said.