One of the soldiers who opened fire on Bloody Sunday did so in breach of British army regulations, a former colleague claimed today.
Soldier 229, who was a lance corporal in the Parachute Regiment, said a private fired a warning shot into the air to get a frightened man down from the rafters of a derelict building.
The former soldier also denied he beat and abused two people he detained on January 30th, 1972, when 13 civil rights marchers were shot dead by paratroopers. A 14th man died later.
A civilian witness had claimed Soldier 229 punched and kicked him before spitting into another man's mouth, but the soldier denied this today.
Soldier 229 admitted, however, that he did not see the three men he detained that day throw stones at the security forces - contrary to his police statements at the time.
The former soldier said he arrested Mr Joseph Lynn in a derelict building near Rossville Street after he was followed into the building by Private L.
"Private L was carrying his rifle pointing upwards. He shouted to Lynn to come down and shot at the same time," he said.
"The shot was not an aimed shot and it was not aimed at Lynn. The shot went straight up into the roof above Lynn.
"My impression was that Private L knew what he was doing, the shot was a warning to Lynn, who immediately started to come down. The shot was not fired in anger.
"I know that Private L contravened the yellow card (army regulations) in two respects in this incident. He should not have had a cocked weapon in that situation but he did, and he should not have fired a warning shot under any circumstances."
In his statement to the inquiry, Soldier L denied he fired any shots into the air in the derelict building and insisted any soldier who claimed he did was mistaken.
Earlier the inquiry heard how one soldier was described as a "bit of a gunslinger" by one of his colleagues.
Soldier INQ 896, a private in the Parachute Regiment, said he saw Corporal E open fire on the day 13 civil rights marchers were shot dead.
The paratrooper said Corporal E may have "gloried in the shooting", which took place in a derelict building close to Rossville Flats in the nationalist Bogside area on January 30, 1972.
Soldier INQ 896 told the Saville Inquiry in London he saw Corporal E lying on his stomach in a prone position as he opened fire.
"I remember hearing him fire possibly two or three shots, but I am not absolutely sure," he said. "I believe at the time that he could see a target, although I could not see anything myself and I did stop to see what he was looking at".
The soldier said he spoke to Corporal E, who is now dead, about the shooting after Bloody Sunday. "He [Corporal E] was a bit of a gunslinger and may have gloried in the shooting," he said.
PA