Bloody Sunday Soldier F Trial: Attempted Murder Victim Michael Quinn Gives Evidence — Transcript

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1. 0:00A man who was shot on Bloody Sunday has
2. 0:03been describing the moment he was hit in
3. 0:05the face by a bullet. Michael Quinn was
4. 0:08testifying at the trial of Soldier F,
5. 0:10the Army veteran who denies seven
6. 0:13charges, including two counts of murder
7. 0:15on that day in 1972.
8. 0:18Our crime and justice correspondent
9. 0:20Julian O'Neal was in court.
10. 0:22The Bloody Sunday families were back in
11. 0:24court to hear further detailed witness
12. 0:27accounts of the day that paratroopers
13. 0:29shot dead 13 people. Soldier F denies
14. 0:34murdering two of the victims, Jim Ray
15. 0:36and William McKini, as well as five
16. 0:39counts of attempted murder.
17. 0:42One of those wounded was this man,
18. 0:44Michael Quinn. 53 years ago. He was aged
19. 0:4817 and along with some school friends,
20. 0:51he attended the civil rights march which
21. 0:54culminated in the shootings. Mr. Quinn
22. 0:57described the atmosphere on the civil
23. 1:00rights march as friendly and lively, but
24. 1:03he admitted to feeling a little bit
25. 1:05apprehensive because he knew
26. 1:07paratroopers were on the streets of
27. 1:10Derry. He then went on to describe
28. 1:13trouble breaking out the army firing
29. 1:15tear gas and rubber bullets and he then
30. 1:18heard the distinctive crack of gunshots
31. 1:22from army rifles. Mr. Quinn sought cover
32. 1:25here in Glenfata Park. He remembered
33. 1:28someone telling a youth to put away a
34. 1:30nail bomb and then in reference to the
35. 1:32soldiers a shout of they're coming in.
36. 1:36He decided to run and as he did he felt
37. 1:39a bullet graze his shoulder, strike his
38. 1:42face and then in his words exit his
39. 1:45nose. He managed to stumble to another
40. 1:48street for help before being taken to
41. 1:50hospital.
42. 1:52Another witness, John Shields, told the
43. 1:54court he saw some of what happened from
44. 1:56a bedroom window.
45. 1:58He described how on entering Glenfata
46. 2:01Park, a paratrooper shouldered his rifle
47. 2:04and fired a single shot at someone who
48. 2:07immediately fell and didn't move. When
49. 2:10he went outside, Mr. Shield said he was
50. 2:13told by someone, "There are bodies
51. 2:15everywhere." The trial continues.
52. 2:19Julian O'Neal, BBC Newsline, Belfast.
53. 2:24There's more detail on today's hearing
54. 2:26and you can follow the trial so far on
55. 2:28our website or by downloading the BBC
56. 2:31News