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26th Mar 2019

The first officers on scene at the Cookstown tragedy ‘withdrew to await support’

Rebecca O'Keeffe

Cookstown

There is an investigation underway.

It has been reported that the police officers that responded to the Cookstown tragedy are under investigation.

The officers face investigation after it emerged they initially withdrew from the scene.

Chief Constable of PSNI, George Hamilton, referred the actions of the officers to the Police Ombudsman.

The Deputy Chief Constable announced the move on this afternoon.

“The ongoing investigation into the tragic events at the Greenvale Hotel is active and wide-ranging,” he said.

“As part of that investigation, it is right and proper that the actions of all those involved are considered.”

“Part of the investigation has included a review of the initial police response.”

“The first police officers arrived at the hotel grounds shortly after receiving the 999 report.”

“Following their initial assessment, they made attempts to establish more detail and information about what was happening and subsequently withdrew to await further police support.”

Three teenagers sadly lost their lives during the incident.

They were Lauren Bullock (17), Connor Currie (16) and Morgan Barnard (17).

Lauren passed away at the scene while Connor and Morgan were pronounced dead in hospital.