Two held over NI murder attempt

Two men have been arrested by police investigating the murder attempt on PSNI officer Constable Peadar Heffron earlier this month…

Two men have been arrested by police investigating the murder attempt on PSNI officer Constable Peadar Heffron earlier this month.

The 33-year-old police officer was very seriously injured in the bomb attack earlier this month.

The PSNI confirmed this morning that two men have been arrested in connection with the attack.

A 34-year-old man was arrested in west Belfast by detectives from the serious crimes branch of the PSNI. A police spokesman said searches are continuing in the arera.

A second man, aged 33, was held following a raid in north Belfast. Both men have been taken to the serious crimes suite at Antrim police station.

Constable Heffron remains in a critical but stable condition in Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital. He had a leg amputated after he was seriously injured when a device exploded under his car as he left his Randalstown home for duty at Woodbourne station in west Belfast on January 8th.

The Irish language specialist and Gaelic footballer was targeted by dissident republicans because he was a Catholic and a high-profile officer in language and sporting circles, the PSNI believes.

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Éanna Ó Caollaí

Éanna Ó Caollaí

Iriseoir agus Eagarthóir Gaeilge An Irish Times. Éanna Ó Caollaí is The Irish Times' Irish Language Editor, editor of The Irish Times Student Hub, and Education Supplements editor.