Seven men appear in court charged with attempted murder of PSNI officer John Caldwell

Seven people have appeared in court in Northern Ireland to be charged with the attempted murder of senior PSNI officer John Caldwell in February. 

Detective Inspector Caldwell was shot several times in front of his teenage son as he loaded footballs into his car at a sports complex in Omagh, County Tyrone, after coaching a youth training session on February 22. 

The dissident republican group the New IRA claimed responsibility for the attack shortly afterwards. 

On Monday, seven men aged between 28 and 72 appeared via video link at Dungannon Magistrates Court to be charged with Caldwell's attempted murder. 

Brian Caron, 38, from Claremont Drive in Coalisland, and 45-year-old Gavin Coyle from Killybrack Mews in Omagh were charged with membership of the IRA in addition to the attempted murder charge. 

James Ivor McLean, 72, and his 29-year-old son Robert McLean, both from Deverney Park in Omagh, were both charged with attempted murder. 

McLean's 33-year-old son Matthew, from Glenview Park in Omagh, was charged with attempted murder and preparation of terrorist acts. 

Two other men - 28-year-old Jonathan McGinty from St Julian's Downs in Omagh, and 47-year-old Alan McFarland from Deverney Park in Omagh - were charged with the same offenses. 

Coyle, James Ivor McLean, and McGinty all made bail applications on Monday but were denied by District judge Steven Keown on the grounds that there was a risk that they would commit further offenses and interfere with the investigation. 

All of the accused were remanded in custody to appear in court in Omagh via video link on June 27. 

A PSNI Detective Chief Inspector told Dungannon Magistrates Court on Monday that he could link all seven accused to the charges, outlining links between a number of vehicles used before, during, and after February's gun attack. 

He added that the PSNI had obtained forensic evidence in addition to CCTV footage and witness statements. 

The officer also told the court that the PSNI believes there was a "personal element" to February's attack, adding that Caldwell was "intimately involved" in investigations into several of the accused. 

He described a personal grudge against Caldwell as a "golden thread" linking a number of the accused and said there had been several threats made against Caldwell's life over the past few years. 

The Irish News reports that four of the seven men come from Protestant backgrounds.