Three men acquitted in journalist Lyra McKee's 2019 killing in Northern Ireland

Three men accused of helping to kill journalist Lyra McKee were found not guilty on 3 July 2026. McKee, who was 29 years old, died after being shot in the head during a riot in Derry, Northern Ireland, in April 2019. A masked gunman fired four shots while police were monitoring the disturbance. The New IRA, a paramilitary group, later admitted responsibility, saying the shooter had been targeting police officers, not McKee.

Paul McIntyre, Peter Cavanagh, and Jordan Gareth Devine faced charges of encouraging or assisting the gunman. A judge delivered the not guilty verdicts following a trial that ran over two years. The person who actually fired the weapon was never identified. Nobody has been convicted of McKee's death.