We mourn the killing of Lyra McKee

IRELAND, DERRY, April 19 - The Coalition for Women in Journalism is shocked and mourning the killing of journalist and colleague Lyra McKee who was shot dead few hours ago, on the eve of Good Friday, April 19, 2019, in Derry Northern Ireland.

The journalist was killed during the protests taking place. Lyra McKee was 29 years old at the time of her death. She described the scene few hours before being shot dead by writing "Derry tonight. Absolute madness."

She had recently signed a two-book deal with Faber, who called her a “rising star of investigative journalism”. Lyra’s “Letter to my 14 year old self”, about growing up gay in Belfast, went viral in 2014 and was made into this short film. She additionally reported on a number of sensitive topics including suicide in Northern Ireland for The Atlantic, mosaicscience and Buzzfeed.

In a Ted talk, McKee argued that changes in religious teaching on LGBT issues would save lives. Local authorities are calling the killing a “terrorist incident.” The Police Service of Northern Ireland confirmed that a woman had been killed in the Creggan area of Derry, but they did not immediately identify the victim, later on, the news was circulated via Twitter.

“Sadly I can confirm that following shots being fired tonight in Creggan, a 29 year old woman has been killed,” Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton said in a statement on Twitter early Friday morning local time. “We are treating this as a terrorist incident and we have launched a murder enquiry.”

Many sources explained that the dissidents, present at the scene, were aiming to hit the police but hit the journalist instead. Commenting on the attack, CFWIJ Founding Director Kiran Nazish said: “Europe is not a region where we expect such magnitude of danger for women journalists. We are processing the shock from this and our hearts go out to the family and friends of Lyra.”

“Heartbreaking news. A senseless act. A family has been torn apart.” — said Arlene Foster, the Democratic Unionist Party leader.

These are not typical news and hence shocking to hear, with no vivid history of journalists being attacked in Northern Ireland in the recent years, we discourage the act and encourage authorities to immediately launch an investigation.

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The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world, and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.

Follow us on Instagram @womeninjournalism and Twitter @CFWIJ.

Our website is WomenInJournalism.org and we can be reached at press@womeninjournalism.org