Freelance investigative journalist Lyra McKee was fatally shot in April 2019, during riots and a police operation in Northern Ireland. As of April 2026, three men had been charged in connection with her killing.
McKee, 29, was shot in the head on April 18, 2019, during clashes between rioters and police in the Creggan area of Londonderry, also known as Derry, and died in a local hospital. She was filming the riotson her phone and standing next to a police vehicle when she was shot, and police said they believe the gunman was aiming at officers.
Media reported that violence broke out after police raided houses where they suspected republican dissidents may have stored weapons that could have been used for terrorism acts around the anniversary of the 1916 Easter Uprising.
Séamus Dooley, assistant general secretary of the U.K.’s National Union of Journalists, said of McKee on April 19: “I have no doubt that it was that commitment [to journalism] which led to her presence on the streets of the Creggan last night, observing a riot situation in the city.” Dooley and news reports said that McKee had tweeted images and commentary on the riot, and Dooley added that she had spoken with a journalist colleague on the street.
On April 23, media reports said that the New IRA, a paramilitary group, had claimed responsibility for McKee’s death in a statement sent to The Irish News.
In February 2020, the Londonderry Magistrates’ Court charged Paul McIntyre, a man from Londonderry, with McKee’s murder in joint enterprise with an unknown gunman. The charges came after video footage surfaced allegedly showing McIntyre picking up bullet casings that had come from a gun after it was fired by another man. McIntyre’s lawyer, Derwin Harvey, told the BBC that there was “scant” evidence against his client, adding that the case rested on a “snapshot” of low-quality mobile phone footage. The Irish News reported in July 2022 that McIntyre remained free on bail.
In June 2020, police said they had identified a gun, a Hammerli X-Esse pistol that they found during searches in Londonderry, as the weapon used to kill McKee; they added that the weapon was used in four other paramilitary shootings. In September 2022, Londonderry man Niall Sheerin was sentenced to seven years in prison for possessing the gun that killed McKee. However, the court said the prosecution had not established that Sheerin was aware of the specific history of the gun, and that he was not sentenced in connection with McKee’s murder.
In January 2023, Peter Cavanagh and Jordan Devine, both from Londonderry, were charged with McKee’s murder; they denied the charge and were out on bail pending a trial date in Belfast. The two men were also charged — along with six others — with rioting on the night McKee was killed.
On April 16, 2026, the Belfast Crown Court finished the court proceedings and reserved judgment after closing submissions from the defense, stating it would take “some time” due to the case’s complexity, but it would be prioritized.