Police felt guilty for evacuating people towards the Omagh bomb in 1998. Evacuation errors led to casualties.
James Baxter said the victims suffered greatly after the bombing. There were many hoax bomb warnings in the years following the tragedy.
In 1998, the Real IRA bombed Omagh, killing twenty-nine people, including a pregnant woman carrying twins. The public inquiry is at the Strule Arts Centre, where police officers who responded first are giving statements.
The government started the public inquiry to determine if the bombing could have been stopped.
Baxter was the police commander in Omagh, off-duty that day. He got a call about a bomb warning that indicated the bomb was near the courthouse; people were sent toward Market Street, which was the wrong direction.
Baxter heard about the explosion on the news and went to the police station to take command. He then visited the Omagh Leisure Centre, where relatives were seeking information.
He saw people in distress about missing family, as they had no news of their loved ones. He then went to the army barracks, where the gym was a temporary mortuary.
He saw bodies laid out in rows, covered with sheets, which showed the bombing’s impact. Baxter inspected the family identification room next, wanting a warm space for families, putting flowers and tissues there so families could identify the dead.
He saw a body in the room that belonged to friends’ family. He learned about the injured and the dead, and many were people he knew. He had to stay professional despite the pain.
He learned his son’s girlfriend died but could not go home, so he asked his wife to tell his son.
Baxter resumed duties Sunday morning after resting. Many VIPs wanted to visit, but he had limited resources to handle the requests. He visited families of the dead in the days after, which was the hardest part of his career, meeting grieving family members.
He visited his son’s girlfriend’s family too, grieving himself, and tried to act professionally. His wife also felt the loss.
Baxter went to many funerals after and also supported his officers. He spoke with officers who evacuated people, who had been moved toward Market Street, where some were hurt or killed. The officers felt responsible and traumatized, having unknowingly moved people into danger. Baxter sent the officers for counseling.
There were many hoax bomb warnings after the bombing, using the same code as the Real IRA, which forced the town center to be evacuated each time. One warning was the 68th since 1998, coming during the Omagh inquests; these false warnings caused much stress, and victims and officers felt a lot of anxiety.
Police eventually arrested someone in County Donegal who was responsible for over 70 hoaxes.
Baxter left the police in 2003 due to the impact, as the bombing affected his well-being badly.
Officers’ statements were then read. Allan Palmer, a constable in 1998, helped victims but was hurt himself too. He saw dead people and seriously injured survivors.
The inquiry paused for Tracey Devine’s funeral. She was hurt in the 1998 bombing, in which her daughter Breda died. Devine died on Saturday.