Two men, a Catholic and a Protestant, who were lifelong friends, were shot dead in a pub in the quiet Co Armagh village of Poyntzpass last night. Two other men were wounded, although their injuries were said not to be life-threatening.
The dead men were named locally as Mr Damien Trainor, a Catholic aged 28 and Mr Philip Allen, a Protestant, aged 34.
The SDLP deputy leader and MP for Newry and Armagh, Mr Seamus Mallon, described Poyntzpass as 'the most integrated village in Northern Ireland. The RUC Chief Constable, Mr Ronnie Flanagan, who visited the scene early today said that the killers were 'not fit to walk the same earth as the people whose lives they have taken'.
Relatives of the dead men were comforted by local the Presbyterian minister, the Rev Joe Nixon, and Catholic priest, the Rev Desmond Corrigan.
Both clergymen said the lifelong friendship of the Catholic and Protestant symbolised just how good community relations were in the village. 'They were always together. They grew up together, they played together and they drank together,' said Mr Nixon.
Father Corrigan remarked on the irony, in context of sectarian killings, 'that these two people were of different persuasions'.
The attack was carried out about 9 pm as about eight people were gathered in the Railway Bar, on Railway Street, a pub owned by Mr Dessie Canavan, brother of the local SDLP councillor, Mr Tom Canavan.
Two men wearing balaclavas and carrying handguns burst into the premises. They screamed at the customers, ordering them to lie on the floor. When those in the bar obeyed the men sprayed them with gunfire. It was suggested that the gunmen may have singled out Mr Trainor and Mr Allen because they were the youngest people in the bar.
Local people said one of the other customers tried to protect himself from the gunfire with a bar stool.
Mrs Bernadette Canavan, wife of the owner, who was serving behind the bar, managed to escape through a rear exit door. As she made her escape the gunmen tried to kill her, shooting in her direction, her husband told reporters.
The gunmen escaped in a white five-door Ford Escort which had been stolen earlier and which was discovered later near the Co Armagh village of Scarva.
The RUC said it was most likely the work of loyalist paramilitaries. There was speculation early today that the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) may have been responsible.
It is believed the killers chose the Railway Bar in Poyntzpass because the village is mainly Catholic and the bar is owned by the brother of an SDLP councillor.
The RUC Chief Constable said: 'We believe very firmly this is the work of so-called loyalists who are prepared to come into this village and kill people they thought were of a different persuasion'.
He added: 'It is a very telling message to us all - I have seen that grief and suffering and sorrow and bereavement are no respecters of religious belief or political persuasion, and I can assure the public, that neither is the RUC when it comes to bringing to justice those who carried out this act.'
Mr Flanagan, while blaming loyalist paramilitaries, said it was too early to state definitively that it was the work of the LVF.
Mr Trainor and Mr Allen were friends since their school days. Mr Trainor was a mechanic whose family owned a garage about 50 yards from the Railway Bar. He and Mr Allen, who lived opposite the pub, met regularly for a drink at weekends.
Local people said they also had a routine of meeting on Tuesday nights for a chat usually over soft drinks.
Mr Maurice Stokes, a senior consultant at Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry, where the fatally injured men were taken, said the men had 'sustained multiple gunshot injuries'. The other people injured were taken to Craigavon Area Hospital.
The local SDLP MP, Mr Seamus Mallon, who lives in nearby Markethill, rushed to the scene and condemned the murders.
'Those who carried out this vicious attack are not only attacking the patrons of a well-respected bar, but also the entire peace process.
'The attack has all the hallmarks of another sectarian attack. I am appalled at these killings'.
The Northern Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, in condemning 'this cowardly act' said her thoughts were with the families of the dead men. 'Some people are clearly determined to kill and to destroy in an attempt to derail the peace process, but they are working against the wishes of the people who clearly want peace.'
Earlier yesterday, a Catholic man survived an apparent loyalist murder attempt in Toomebridge, Co Antrim, when his attacker's gun jammed.
He was working in a mobile chip van on the Hillhead Road around midday when a man armed with a handgun approached and attempted to open fire.
