§ Mr. McQuadeasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement concerning the murder of RUC Reserve Constable David Purse on Saturday 12 January at Seaview Football Ground.
§ Mr. Humphrey Atkins[pursuant to his reply, 16 January 1980]: At approximately 1605 hours on 12 January a car drew up outside the Crusaders football ground, Shore Road, while a match was in progress. One man armed with a rifle left the vehicle, pushed open the main gate of the football ground and fired five rounds, one of which fatally wounded part-time Reserve Constable William David Purse, aged 44. Constable Purse was in the process of opening the exit gate prior to the end of the game.
The gunman and two other men escaped in the car, heading south towards the city centre. It later transpired that the car had been taken from its owner earlier that afternoon in the New Lodge area of Belfast. Police inquiries are continuing.