Mother of man shot in legs in Derry insists it was case of 'mistaken identity'

The victim, Eoin Bradley, was shot in both kneecaps after the gunmen burst into his Kildrum Gardens home.

They were let into his home by his mother, Bernie McFadden (62), after she answered a knock at her front door.

“There were three of them. They were all masked. One of them shouted out the name of their intended target and the other two ran upstairs to Eoin's bedroom. It all happened so quickly. I shouted at them there was only me and Eoin in the house, not the person they were looking for, but they ignored me and shot Eoin in each kneecap.

“The two gunmen then ran down the stairs and pushed past me and they were then followed out of my home by the third man.

“I ran upstairs and found Eoin on the bed with blood everywhere. I phoned the police and they in turn called for an ambulance. It was crazy stuff. These people should not be allowed to run around with guns and randomly shoot innocent people.

“They shouted out the wrong name and when I told them that they simply ignored me and shot my son in his bed. Obviously they didn't know who they were shooting.

“The community needs to know just what these people are capable of doing and getting away with. It is all too common in this city.

“I have had callers to my home all morning sympathising with me. Many people know Eoin. He works and comes straight back home. He's a quiet man, not a great person for socialising, and this happens to him in his own bed.

“I'm waiting to hear from the doctors at Altnagelvin Hospital to see if Eoin has to be transferred to a hospital in Belfast or if he can be treated here in Derry,” said Ms McFadden.

Meanwhile a PSNI spokesperson described the shooting as appalling.

“It was reported to us just after midnight that three masked men had entered the property. Two of them entered a bedroom where a man was sleeping and they shot him twice, once in each leg. He was taken to hospital for treatment for his injuries.

“A woman who was also in the property at the time was thankfully physically uninjured but she has been left shaken by the incident,” the spokesperson said.