Police Say INLA Behind Jim Donegan's Murder

Police investigating the murder of Jim Donegan in west Belfast last December have said the INLA was responsible, while releasing new CCTV footage that shows a gunman waiting for the 43-year-old days before the brutal attack.

Mr Donegan was fatally shot on Tuesday 04 December as he sat in his car waiting to collect his son from school on the Glen Road.

The Senior Investigating Officer from the PSNI's Major Investigation Team has today made an appeal on BBC's Crimewatch Roadshow Live programme in relation to the murder.

Detectives now believe that the same man tried to murder Jim five days earlier and have released CCTV footage which shows the man waiting outside Jim's son's school for 20 minutes on Thursday 29 November and have issued new CCTV.

Detective Chief Inspector Pete Montgomery said: "Jim was a husband, a brother, a father to two sons and a stepfather and over three months have passed since his cold blooded murder. Jim's family deserve to have answers and this dangerous gunman needs to be removed from our streets but I need the public's help to do this.

"Today I am releasing new CCTV footage which I believe shows the gunman, five days before Jim's death, waiting for him to arrive to collect his 13 year old son with hundreds of innocent children nearby. Jim was not collecting his son that day but I believe that if he had appeared he would have been murdered at this point.

"My investigation into the callous execution of Jim Donegan continues to progress and a republican element is a main line of enquiry, specifically the INLA but I really need the public's help to remove this dangerous man from our streets.

"Do you recognise the man in the CCTV footage? He may be late 30s to early 40s, approximately 5'8" and may walk with a limp or may have an existing medical condition that impacts on his walking style. This is someone who thought it was acceptable to put the lives of countless children at risk and murder Jim- please help me put him before the courts."

On the day of the gun attack, police believe the culprit emerged from Clonelly Avenue onto the Glen Road at around 3.10pm. He then walked past numerous children at around 3.15pm, calmly activated the pedestrian crossing, crossed the road and walked up to Jim's car, firing his weapon 8 times before fleeing the scene.

He was wearing a high-vis hip length yellow jacket with the word 'security' on the back, dark bottoms with a grey coloured hat or hood and carrying a dark bag over his shoulder which police believe contained the gun.

DCI Montgomery added: "I want to hear from you if you were in the area at the time. Did you see the gunman? Did he go into a house afterwards or get into a waiting car? Do you have any dashcam footage? Perhaps you have heard anyone talking about the killing? Please come forward with any information that you have.

"The family have been left devastated and hundreds of children and families who witnessed the murder have also been left traumatised. The callous actions of the gunman will have catastrophic psychological effects on them all."

Anyone with information which they believe may assist the investigation is urged to contact detectives on 101.

The CCTV footage can be viewed here:





(JG)