Home

Charges laid over murder of Lyra McKee

AAPAAP
Two men have been charged over the murder of Northern Ireland journalist Lyra McKee.
Camera IconTwo men have been charged over the murder of Northern Ireland journalist Lyra McKee. Credit: EPA

Police have charged two men with the murder of Lyra McKee, a Northern Irish journalist shot dead as she covered rioting in Londonderry in 2019.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said the men, aged 21 and 33, are due in court on Friday. Their names have not been released.

McKee, 29, was observing anti-police rioting in the city, also known as Derry, when she was hit by gunfire in April 2019.

The New IRA, a small paramilitary group that opposes Northern Ireland's peace process, said its members shot McKee by accident while firing at police.

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

The suspects have also been charged with possession of a firearm and ammunition, possession of petrol bombs, throwing petrol bombs, arson and riot.

McKee was an increasingly influential journalist who had written powerfully about growing up gay in Northern Ireland and the struggles of the generation of "ceasefire babies" raised after the 1998 Good Friday peace accord that ended three decades of sectarian violence.

Hundreds of people attended McKee's funeral, including the prime ministers of Britain and Ireland and political leaders from Northern Ireland's Protestant and Catholic communities.

Her death helped spur a successful effort to get feuding politicians to revive Northern Ireland's power-sharing government, which had collapsed in 2017.

Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.

Sign up for our emails