(CNN) Three men have been arrested in connection with the attempted murder of a high-ranking investigator northern Ireland.
Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell was shot Wednesday in front of his son and other children at a sports complex on Wednesday.
Northern Ireland Police Service Chief Constable Simon Byrne said the men arrested ranged in age from 38, 45 and 47 and were currently being questioned by police.
Northern Ireland Assistant Chief Constable Mark McEwan told the media that Caldwell was shot several times by masked men in Omagh, County Tyrone on Wednesday as he was putting footballs in his car with his son.
Describing the attack, McEwan said, “Two gunmen approached and we believe both fired several shots. John ran a short distance and fell to the ground. While he was on the ground, the gunmen continued to shoot him.”
McEwan added that the shooting took place in a crowded place with children nearby, and added, “We saw many of these young men and children running in sheer terror to get to safety.” Caldwell remains in a “critical but stable condition” after being taken to hospital.
The police opened an investigation into attempted murder and asked witnesses to contact them. “[The] investigation at an early stage. We believe the gunman was driven away in a small dark car, which was later found burnt out.”
McEwan also said that “our primary focus is violent opposition republicans” in the investigation, targeting a group called the New Irish Republican Army, which was responsible for the killing of journalist Lyra McKee in 2019.
The Police Federation of Northern Ireland called the attack “a cruel, cold-blooded and barbaric attempted murder on an off-duty officer” and appealed to anyone with information to come forward.
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, the Taoiseach, condemned the shooting, calling it a “heinous act of attempted murder”, on Twitter.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was “appalled by the disgraceful shooting”, and wrote on Twitter, “My thoughts are with the officer and his family. There is no place in our society for those who seek to harm public servants who protect communities.”
This is the most serious attack in several years in Northern Ireland. The last time a police officer was killed in Northern Ireland was in 2017, according to Reuters.
In 1998, the town of Omagh witnessed the deadliest attack in the 30-year conflict between Catholic nationalists and pro-British Protestants, with an explosion killing 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, and injuring more than 300.
It happened at the end of the bloody period known as the Troubles, which lasted from the late 1960s to the late 1990s. It was also four months after the signing of the Good Friday Peace Agreement – which ushered in a new era in the region although some fighting continued.
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