Shots fired over open coffin of IRA killer Alex Murphy

DETECTIVES have launched an investigation after a video posted online showed a man firing a volley of shots over an open coffin of a dead IRA terrorist.

The shots were fired ahead by a masked Provo at the funeral in west Belfast of Alex Murphy on Monday afternoon.

Murphy was one of two men convicted of killing Royal Corps of Signals corporals Derek Wood and David Howes.

They were murdered after they drove into an IRA funeral in west Belfast in March 1988.

In the online footage, two men are seen wearing black balaclavas.

One is holding a gun and fires a number of rounds in the air.

At the end of the volley of shots, a man standing beside the coffin dressed in a green coat, is seen applauding.

Like the gunman, he too is wearing a pair of blue gloves.

In the online footage, two men are seen wearing black balaclavas.

One is holding a gun and fires a number of rounds in the air.

Police described it as a “reckless act” which only caused “fear and intimidation”.

Supt Lorraine Dobson added that it “put lives at risk”.

“This was not a sign of respect,” she said.

Police described it as a “reckless act” which only caused “fear and intimidation”.

Supt Lorraine Dobson added that it “put lives at risk”.

“This was not a sign of respect,” she said.

“This was a criminal act with no regard for the wider wishes of law abiding people, carried out by those who seek to exploit and control the community through fear and violence.

“The footage shows a man walking out of the front door of a house just yards away from where the shots were fired, while it also shows a young boy standing beside the coffin as the volley of shots was fired.

“Firing a gun, in such criminal circumstances, will always have the potential to put lives at risk and is simply unacceptable.”

A Sinn Féin spokesman said there was “no place for guns on our streets”.