Irish republican Colin Duffy and two man arrested in hunt for David Black M1 ambush killers.
Colin Duffy, 44, and another man, aged 31, were arrested in the Lurgan area early this morning and have been taken to Antrim Serious Crime suite for questioning, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said.
Mr Black, 52, was gunned down on the M1 motorway early on Thursday morning as he drove to work at the top security Maghaberry jail near Lisburn, County Antrim.
The father of two’s car veered off the road and into a drainage ditch after the shots were fired. He was on a stretch of the motorway between Portadown and Lurgan – a dissident republican stronghold in County Armagh.
A Toyota Camry used in the attack was later found burned out in the Inglewood area of Lurgan.
Police have blamed dissident republicans opposed to the peace process for the ambush. They have been engaged in a long-running campaign against conditions in Maghaberry.
Mr Black, from Cookstown, County Tyrone, had served in the Prison Service for more than 30 years and was considering retirement.
His wife and children are said to be “absolutely devastated” by the murder, which happened just as their beloved husband and father was looking forward to relaxing after over three decades in the job.
The long-standing member of the Orange Order became the 30th prison officer to be murdered in Northern Ireland since 1974, though the first for almost 20 years.
He was driving his black Audi A4 when the dark blue Toyota drew up alongside and several shots were fired. Police believe he may have already been dead when his car veered off the road.
Married father-of-two, Mr Black, 52, was shot several times from a car that pulled up alongside his on the M1 near Lurgan, Co Armagh, as he drove to work at Maghaberry jail yesterday morning.
The long-standing member of the Orange Order became the 30th prison officer to be murdered in Northern Ireland since 1974, though the first for almost 20 years.
Prime Minister David Cameron and all sides in Northern Ireland condemned the shooting.
It was also discussed today at a north south ministerial meeting in Armagh involving Enda Kenny, Taoiseach of the Irish Republic, Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.
Colleagues said Mr Black, from Cookstown, Co Tyrone, had been actively considering retirement after more than 30 years’ service.
Prime Minister David Cameron joined political leaders on both sides of the Irish border in condemning what he said was a “brutal murder”.
He said: “These killers will not succeed in denying the people of Northern Ireland the peaceful, shared future they so desperately want.”
Stormont First Minister Peter Robinson branded the culprits “flat-earth fanatics living in the dark ages, spewing out hatred from every pore”.
After being shot, Mr Black’s black Audi A4 veered off the road and crashed into a deep drainage ditch.
Police have blamed dissident republicans opposed to the peace process.
The violent extremists have been engaged in a long-running protest campaign against conditions inside HMP Maghaberry in Co Antrim – Northern Ireland’s only maximum-security prison.
Ministers from the Northern Ireland Executive and the Irish Republic’s government will discuss the murder at a North South Ministerial Council meeting in Armagh today.
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