The PSNI officer killed in a gun attack in Co Armagh last night has three grandchildren, it emerged today.
Constable Stephen Carroll (48) died when he was shot in the head as police responded to a call from a member of the public in the Lismore Manor area of the town.
The resident called at 9.45pm to say a brick had been thrown through the window of her home and she wanted help. Officers from Lurgan were accompanied by colleagues from a Tactical Support Group (TSG), which provides specialist back-up in potentially difficult or dangerous situations.
Two shots were fired and Constable Carroll was hit in the head as he sat in the driver's seat of the TSG car.
He has been with the Police Service of Northern Ireland for 23 years. He was born in Epping in England but had spent part of his life in Kildare before moving to Bandbridge, Co Down.
He is survived by his wife Kate, her son Shaun, and three grandchildren.
Friends of Constable Carroll and his wife in Banbridge today revealed the final conversation the two had last night before he went to Craigavon. "Don't worry about me," he told his wife, "I'll be grand. They won't get me"
Constable Carroll, a sports fanatic, was a former decathlete, whose favourite event was the long jump. He was two years away from retirement and was studying part-time for a sports science degree. He had hoped to go into coaching after leaving the PSNI.
A Requiem Mass for Constable Carroll will be held in Banbridge's St Patrick Catholic church at the end of the week. Canon Liam Stevenson, who comforted family members at their home today, will conduct the service.
"They had plans and dreams for the future and now all those are just blown apart," he said.
"Banbridge is numbed by this. There have been incidences (of violence) before in the town and people are so afraid of going back to that cycle of violence. Nobody wants that."
Additional reporting PA
