2009 Massereene Barracks shooting On 7 March 2009 , two off - duty British soldiers of 38 Engineer Regiment were shot dead outside Massereene Barracks in Antrim town , Northern Ireland . Two other soldiers and two civilian delivery men were also shot and wounded during the attack . An Irish republican paramilitary group , the Real IRA , claimed responsibility . The shootings were the first British military fatalities in Northern Ireland since February 1997 . Two days later the Continuity IRA shot dead a Police Service of Northern Ireland ( PSNI ) officer ; the first Northern Irish police officer to be killed by paramilitaries since 1998 . There followed a miscarriage of justice when cystic fibrosis sufferer Brian Shivers was convicted of the murders and jailed for life , only to later have his conviction quashed after time in prison . Shooting . At about 21 : 40 that evening , four off - duty British soldiers of the Royal Engineers walked outside the barracks to receive a pizza delivery from two delivery men . As the exchange was taking place , two gunmen in a nearby car ( a green Vauxhall Cavalier ) opened fire with Romanian AKM automatic rifles . The firing lasted for more than 30 seconds with more than 60 shots being fired . After the initial burst of gunfire , the gunmen walked over to the wounded soldiers and fired again at close range , killing two of them . Those killed were Sapper s Mark Quinsey from Birmingham and Patrick Azimkar from London . The other two soldiers and two deliverymen were wounded . The soldiers were wearing desert fatigues and were to be deployed to Afghanistan the next day . A few hours later , the car involved was found abandoned near Randalstown , eight miles from the barracks . A Dublin - based newspaper , the " Sunday Tribune " , received a phone call from a caller using a recognised Real IRA codeword . The caller claimed responsibility for the attack on behalf of the Real IRA , adding that the civilian pizza deliverymen were legitimate targets as they were " collaborating with the British by servicing them " . The shootings were the first British military fatalities in Northern Ireland since Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick was shot dead by the Provisional IRA in February 1997 , during the period known as " The Troubles " . The attack came days after a suggestion by Northern Ireland ' s police chief , Sir Hugh Orde , that the likelihood of a terrorist attack in Northern Ireland was at its highest level for several years . The barracks were shut down in 2010 as part of a further reduced presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland . Northern Ireland Security Guard Service . Civilian Security Officers belonging to the Northern Ireland Security Guard Service were criticised for not opening fire during the incident . As a result of this criticism plans were made to retrain and rearm Civilian Security Officers belonging to the Northern Ireland Security Guard Service . Related incidents . In January 2009 , security forces had to defuse a bomb in Castlewellan , and in 2008 three separate incidents saw dissident republican s attempt to kill Police Service of Northern Ireland ( PSNI ) officers in Derry , Castlederg and Dungannon , County Tyrone . In all three cases , PSNI officers were seriously wounded . Two of the attacks involved firearms while the other employed an under - car booby - trap bomb . Two days after the Massereene Barracks shooting , PSNI officer Stephen Carroll was shot dead in Craigavon , County Armagh . This was the first killing of a police officer in Northern Ireland since 1998 . The Continuity IRA claimed responsibility for this shooting and stated that " As long as there is British involvement in Ireland , these attacks will continue " . Reaction . The morning after the attack , worshippers came out of St Comgall ' s Church after mass and kept vigil near the barracks . They were joined by their priest and clerics from the town ' s other churches . On 11 March 2009 , thousands of people attended silent protests against the killings at several venues in Northern Ireland . The killings were condemned by all mainstream political parties in Northern Ireland , the Irish government , the United States government and Pope Benedict XVI . Sinn Féin was criticised for being less vehement in condemning the killings . Trials . On 14 March 2009 , the PSNI arrested three men in connection with the killings , one of whom was former IRA prisoner Colin Duffy . He had broken away from mainstream republicans and criticised Sinn Féin ' s decision to back the new PSNI . On 25 March 2009 , after a judicial review of their detention , all the men were ordered to be released by the Belfast High Court , however , Duffy was immediately re - arrested on suspicion of murder . On 26 March 2009 , Duffy was formally charged with the murder of the two soldiers and the attempted murder of five other people . The following day he appeared in court for indictment and was remanded in custody to await trial after it was alleged that his full DNA profile was found on a latex glove inside the vehicle used by the gunmen . Brian Shivers , a cystic fibrosis sufferer , was charged with the soldiers ' murders and the attempted murder of six other people . He was also charged with possession of firearms and ammunition with intent to endanger life . He was arrested in Magherafelt in July 2009 . In January 2012 Duffy was acquitted of involvement but Shivers was convicted of the murders . In January 2013 , Shivers ' s conviction was overturned by Northern Ireland ' s highest appeals court . A May 2013 retrial found Shivers not guilty . He was cleared of all charges and immediately released from jail . The judge questioned the choice of Shivers as a likely murderer , with his cystic fibrosis and his engagement to a Protestant woman . Duffy ' s solicitor stated