| Part of the Troubles | |
.JPG) A photograph of Newry taken in March 2010 | |
| Date | 23 October 1971 |
|---|---|
| Location | Newry, Northern Ireland |
| Participants | Sean Ruddy (19) Robert Anderson (25) Thomas McLoughlin (27) 4 undercover British Army soldiers |
| Outcome | Riots by the Catholic community |
| Deaths | 3 (Ruddy, Anderson, McLoughlin) |
The 1971 Newry killings was an incident during the Troubles in Newry, Northern Ireland where undercover British Army soldiers shot and killed three Catholic civilians in disputed circumstances on 23 October 1971. Four Royal Green Jackets soldiers were stationed in the town's Woolworths department store after the army had received a tip-off that the Provincial Bank across the street would be the target of a bank robbery by the Provisional Irish Republican Army.
Three men, Sean Ruddy, Robert Anderson and Thomas McLoughlin were spotted approaching the bank and after becoming involved in an altercation with two men depositing money were shouted at to stop by the soldiers. All three began running away and were subsequently shot and killed by the soldiers. After the killings, the soldiers involved were tried in a civil proceeding; a jury found the soldiers not guilty of murder. After news of the killings became public, angered mobs rioted in Newry for several days until security forces managed to bring the situation back under control.