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Murder of Ronan Kerr
Ronan Kerr was a Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officer killed by a booby-trap car bomb planted outside his home on 2 April 2011 at Highfield Close, just off the Gortin Road (the B48), near Killyclogher on the northern outskirts of Omagh in County Tyrone.[1] Responsibility for the attack was later claimed by a dissident republican group claiming to be made up of former members of the Provisional IRA.[2][3][4] Constable Kerr was Roman Catholic, a group which at the time constituted approximately 30% of PSNI officers (a proportion recruitment policies were trying to increase),[5] and was 25 at the time of his death. He was a member of a Gaelic Athletic Association club, the Beragh Red Knights. The guard of honour at Kerr's funeral was formed of club members and PSNI officers, a funeral also attended by the leaders of Ireland's four main churches.[6] ReactionHis murder was condemned by almost all sections of Northern Irish politics and society as well as bringing international condemnation.[7][8] On 6 April, a peace rally was organised in Belfast by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu), which was reported to have been attended by up to 7000 persons.[9] Similar events were held in Omagh, Enniskillen, and London.[10] BBC Ireland correspondent Mark Simpson commented, in relation to the unified response of the community, "A murder designed to divide people has actually brought them closer together."[6] Graffiti praising the murder was daubed on walls in predominantly republican areas of Derry.[11] InvestigationOn 26 July 2011, five men were arrested in connection with the investigation. They were later released.[12] On 26 November 2012, investigating detectives announced the arrest of a 22-year-old man in Milton Keynes.[13] On 27 November, a 39-year-old man in County Tyrone was arrested and questioned.[4] On 16 May 2017, officers from the PSNI's Serious Crime Branch arrested two men under the Terrorism Act in connection with the murder. A 27-year-old man was arrested in Omagh, and a 40-year-old man was produced into police custody from prison.[14] In June 2018, a man from Coalisland, County Tyrone, was charged with three terrorism-related charges. These charges were connected to searches in Coalisland in the course of the murder investigation.[15] The charges were dropped in June 2019.[16] References
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