Bloody Sunday (Northern Ireland 1972)

Bloody Sunday
Part of the Troubles
Father Edward Daly waving a blood-stained white handkerchief while trying to escort the mortally wounded Jackie Duddy to safety
Location	Derry, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland
Coordinates	54°59′49″N 7°19′32″W / 54.9969674°N 7.3255581°W / 54.9969674; -7.3255581Coordinates: 54°59′49″N 7°19′32″W / 54.9969674°N 7.3255581°W / 54.9969674; -7.3255581
Date	30 January 1972 16:10 (UTC+00:00)
Attack type	Shooting
Weapons	L1A1 SLR rifles
Deaths	14 (13 immediate, 1 died 4 ½ months later)
Non-fatal injuries	14+ (12 from gunshots, two from vehicle impact, others from rubber bullets and flying debris)
Perpetrators	British Army (Parachute Regiment)

Bloody Sunday – sometimes called the Bogside Massacre – was an incident on 30 January 1972 in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland, when British soldiers shot 26 unarmed civilians during a peaceful protest march against internment. Fourteen people died: thirteen were killed outright, while the death of another man four months later was attributed to his injuries. Many of the victims were shot while fleeing from the soldiers and some were shot while trying to help the wounded. Other protesters were injured by rubber bullets or batons, and two were run down by army vehicles. The march had been organised by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA). The soldiers involved were members of the 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment, also known as "1 Para".

Two investigations have been held by the British government. The Widgery Tribunal, held in the immediate aftermath of the incident, largely cleared the soldiers and British authorities of blame. It described the soldiers' shooting as "bordering on the reckless", but accepted their claims that they shot at gunmen and bomb-throwers. The report was widely criticised as a "whitewash". The Saville Inquiry, chaired by Lord Saville of Newdigate, was established in 1998 to reinvestigate the incident. Following a 12-year inquiry, Saville's report was made public in 2010 and concluded that the killings were both "unjustified" and "unjustifiable". It found that all of those shot were unarmed, that none were posing a serious threat, that no bombs were thrown, and that soldiers "knowingly put forward false accounts" to justify their firing. On the publication of the report, British prime minister David Cameron made a formal apology on behalf of the United Kingdom. Following this, police began a murder investigation into the killings.