‘Tiger kidnapper’ held over officer ambush at petrol station

A man with a conviction for a ‘tiger kidnapping’ is being questioned over a “terrorist” gun attack in which a police officer was shot in the arm on a petrol station forecourt. Meanwhile, two men aged 39 and 30 were arrested in west Belfast on Monday (January 23) night in connection with the shooting, described by Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable George Hamilton as a “planned operation” and “completely reckless”. Matt Johnston was arrested in north Belfast shortly after a gunman armed with an automatic rifle ambushed the officer and sprayed automatic fire across the Maxol station on Crumlin Road at around 7.30pm on Sunday (January 22). The 36-year-old was detained after a car he was travelling in was stopped by the PSNI. A house in the New Lodge area of the city was also searched in a follow-up operation. In 2012, Johnston was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to taking part in a ‘tiger kidnap’ and robbery involving a west Belfast bank worker in 2008. The conviction related to the holding hostage of a man while his bank worker sister was ordered to get money. ‘Tiger kidnapping’ specifically refers to the involvement of two separate crimes, the first being the abduction of a person or property someone highly values – while the subsequent offence is the captors demanding that a second crime be committed on their behalf. Johnston also complained to the Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland and Children`s Commissioner last November about a stop and search operation in west Belfast in which he said police `questioned` his ten-year-old daughter. In Sunday’s attack, the community PSNI officer was shot several times in the right arm after at least nine shots were fired in a suspected dissident republican murder attempt. He underwent emergency surgery at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. Other bullets may have been deflected by the officer`s body armour and some struck cars parked in the petrol station. Mr Hamilton visited the officer in hospital on Monday and said he was is “in good spirits”, adding that he spent three hours in an operating theatre and is expected to undergo more surgery in the days ahead. “I never cease to be amazed by the bravery and the professionalism of police officers like him that I come across on a day-to-day basis,” he said. “He was attacked but other members of the community were at massive risk as well and the people who did this did not care who they murdered last night, albeit it was clear the attack was aimed at the police officers on duty.” Detective Superintendent Kevin Geddes said: “Any one of these could quite easily killed or seriously injured local people, including the children who were at the station.” Police believe a red Audi A4 found burnt out in Culmore Gardens at about 8pm on Sunday was the getaway car. The group calling itself the `IRA` is believed to have been responsible for the attack, which saw the gunman fire shots from behind a fence across the road. A message posted on the Facebook page of anti-Good Friday agreement party Saoradh said it was carried out by “what`s believed to have been Irish republican resistance fighters”. Mark Lindsay, chairman of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, said those who carried out the attack “believe that by causing great grief to a family they are somehow advancing their warped and outdated plan”. He also added that police need more resources to tackle the ongoing dissident threat. “This attack on the life of an officer is a stark reminder of the determination on the part of terrorists to murder and maim police officers,” he said. “The wider community will be outraged by this attack on one of their police officers. “The police serve the entire community and wounding one individual is an attack on the entire community. “This attempted murder underlines the fragility of our peace.” He added: “It is one reason why the threat level here remains classed `severe` which means a terrorist attack is highly likely. “Off