The motive for the killing of a 27-year-old Catholic man in Co Tyrone was shrouded in mystery yesterday as the RUC questioned a Royal Irish Regiment (RIR) soldier about the fatal shooting.
The victim, Mr Colin Philip Foy, from Cooneen, Fivemiletown, Co Tyrone, was drinking in the town's busy Four Ways Hotel just before midnight on Sunday when a man walked up and fired two shots at him, one of which injured him fatally. Shortly after, a 27-year-old RIR soldier walked into nearby Clogher RUC station and handed himself over for questioning. A handgun was also recovered.
Both men, who knew each other, had been in the hotel bar for a while before the incident but according to the hotel owner, Mr Eric Armstrong, had not engaged in any conversation or argument before the shooting. The soldier, who is also from Fivemiletown, recently lost two brothers in a car accident.
The RUC in its original statement said it did not believe that there had been a sectarian motive for the killing but later stated that such a motive could not be ruled out. Although a Catholic, Mr Foy is not believed to have had any republican connections.
The Sinn FΘin MP for the area, Ms Michelle Gildernew, described Mr Foy's killing as "blatantly sectarian". She claimed the victim had been shot "with a legally held firearm for no other reason than his religion".
A local Sinn FΘin councillor, Mr Brian McCaffrey, alleged that Catholics in the South Tyrone area were facing intimidation on a wide-spread basis. "Given the past history of intimidation of Catholics in the area a sectarian motive would not surprise me. There was definitely no provocation on the part of the victim, he was an inoffensive man," he added.
A local taxi driver, Mr Peter Fee, said he had picked up a man from the Four Ways Hotel shortly after midnight.
The man asked to be taken to Clogher RUC station. He allegedly then showed the driver a handgun and told him that he had just killed a man.
Fivemiletown is a predominantly Protestant town and according to local nationalists, the Four Ways Hotel would have been perceived as a local mainly frequented by Protestants.
The hotel's owner, however, said his premises had always enjoyed a mixed clientele. "We have excellent community relations here."