Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Dad blasted in legs by gang after mistake in threat letter
Shooting victim denies drug-dealing
A MAN who denies being a drug dealer has spoken of his terror after an armed gang walked into his home and shot him twice.
Emmanuel Murphy is recovering from injuries to both legs and feet after the horrific attack on June 25. The gang members demanded the foster dad hand over a “stash” and ransacked the house before shooting him. The 37-year-old said: “Within a few hours on Sunday night our family life was destroyed. If this can happen to me it can happen to anyone.” Two children were in the house at the time, both girls aged two and seven. One of the youngsters was Mr Murphy’s daughter with his wife Roisin, the other the couple’s foster child. Since the traumatic attack the victim has had to separate himself from his family in a bid to keep them safe. The man from Ardoyne in North Belfast told the Mirror: “This has been the most horrendous time of our lives. “I have been terrified, shot, threatened and left to bleed out in my home with two small children upstairs – and I had no way of protecting them. “I just can’t get my head around that. I am their dad and their protector and I was left unable to do anything. “I had just put my children to bed and had a lie down on the sofa. “My wife Roisin was out and due back soon. The front and back doors were unlocked as usual because I had no reason to fear. “I dozed off on the sofa and was woken up by a man shouting. I opened my eyes and looked up and saw a gun pointed right in my face. “The man was shouting, ‘Get up off the sofa’. There were other men there but this one was right at me, yelling. “It took me a moment to work out what was going on and my first thought was the girls upstairs. “The gang demanded to know where my stash was and said they’d shoot me in the head if I didn’t give it to them. “I kept assuring them I had no stash. I could hear other men ransacking my home. I knew they’d find nothing. “They told me to lie down on my sofa and told me this was my last chance or they’d shoot me dead. “I heard one say to the other, ‘Take all the keys and phone off the table,’ while another one was mopping the floor. “I thought they were going to leave at that point but then heard a loud bang and pain in my right foot. “My legs fell off the sofa and they told me to lift them up and then they shot the left foot. “They left with my keys and my phone. I pulled myself off the sofa and managed to drag myself out to my front door. I shouted for help, but nobody heard me.” Weeks before the attack Mr Murphy’s name had appeared on a leaflet threatening people under the headline Communities Against Drugs. Understood to have been circulated in North Belfast, it accused 48 named people of being “known drug pushers”. It warned: “All those named must bring themselves forward.” Mr Murphy said: “People know me, they know I’m no drug dealer or user. “I was assured by everyone including the police I was not linked to any drugs or dealers and had nothing to worry about.” Since the attack, Mr Murphy has had to undergo surgery a number of times on his feet and ankles in a bid to walk again. And Social Services have advised him to stay away from the family until he can assure them they are safe in his company. He added: “While in the hospital we were informed that as foster carers I could not return home to my wife and children until the Trust was assured there was no threat. “As a result of these unnamed extortionists a beautiful little girl who is loved and adored may be ripped from a loving family and put back into the care system.” irish@mgn.co.uk
Our family life was destroyed. If this can happen to me it can happen to anyone EMMANUEL MURPHY YESTERDAY