Member's statement: Sergeant Gilgunn and Constable Montgomery Murders: Anniversary
Member's statement by Mr Gary Middleton on .
- MLA
- Mr Gary Middleton
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 27 January 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Sergeant Gilgunn and Constable Montgomery Murders: Anniversary
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4758653
Read the official Assembly record
Text
It is 53 years since the senseless and brutal murders of Sergeant Peter Gilgunn and Constable David Montgomery, two men who were much loved by their family, their friends and the wider community and who served the community during the most fearful of times. Those two men were out doing their job when their lives were stolen forever. They were never to return home. Constable David Montgomery, aged just 20, and Sergeant Peter Gilgunn, a husband and a father to an eight-month-old baby son, were killed in the line of duty at 8.30 am on this very day — 27 January — in 1972. They were the first two police officers to be murdered in Londonderry during the Troubles. Peter and David were driving along the Creggan Road when they were shot and murdered by vile criminals who showed no care or concern for human life. The murders of those two RUC officers by IRA terrorists marked a first for Londonderry, but, sadly, there would be many more murders in the remaining years of the Troubles of those who put on the uniform and went out to protect our communities from those who sought to destroy them. Life-altering physical and mental injuries would be inflicted on many more. Peter and David's car came under fire from a number of gunmen as they travelled along the road. One gunman fired from an alleyway, while two others opened fire from 40 yds away. During the attack, another police officer was wounded. Two other colleagues escaped injury, no doubt carrying with them the trauma of that terrible atrocity for all their days. According to an RUC spokesperson at the time, the two officers did not have a chance to return fire. The driver managed to accelerate to the RUC station, despite his car being hit 17 times. Today, my thoughts and prayers are with all the innocent people who have been impacted on and all those who continue to mourn their passing, today and every day. We must not forget their names or their stories. We must not forget whom they were to their families or the fact that they were innocent. Their stories may not receive the coverage that others' do, but we must remember them. They will not be forgotten.
379 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.17 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.74).
- Subject area: Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.23 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.07 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.05 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.11 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.12 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.04 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.17 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.74 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.19 |
| Adopts it | 0.07 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.97 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.02 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.01 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:46 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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