Journalist shot dead in Derry during riots

A journalist died after she was shot during rioting in Londonderry that police are treating as a “terrorist incident”.

Police in Northern Ireland said the New IRA are “likely to be the ones behind this” and launched a murder inquiry after 29-year-old Lyra McKee was killed last night, the BBC reported.

Prime minister Theresa May said McKee “died doing her job with great courage” and called the murder “shocking and senseless”.

The leaders of Northern Ireland’s biggest political parties condemned the killing and said they were “united in rejecting those responsible for this heinous crime.”

“Lyra’s murder was also an attack on all the people of this community, an attack on the peace and democratic processes,” they said in a joint statement.

“It was a pointless and futile act to destroy the progress made over the last 20 years.”

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said the gunman fired shots towards police officers at around 11pm on Thursday, and McKee, who was standing near a police car, was wounded.

McKee, who was described as a rising star of investigative journalism, had written for publications including Buzzfeed, The Atlantic, worked for Mediagazer, a trade publication covering the media industry and had signed a two-book deal with Faber and Faber.