Incident Summary:

06/05/1999: Elizabeth O'Neill, a Protestant woman who was married to a Catholic man, was murdered when perpetrators, suspected to be from the Red Hand Defenders (RHD), threw a pipe bomb through the window of her house in the Corcrain estate in Portadown, Northern Ireland. It was believed that O'Neill was killed as she picked up the bomb in order to throw it back out of the window. Police later made five arrests, but specific details on the suspects were not provided.

Overview

GTD ID:
199906050002

When:
1999-06-05

Country:
Northern Ireland

Region:
Western Europe

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Armagh (County)

City:
Portadown

What

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more)	Bombing/Explosion
Successful Attack? (more)	Yes

Target Information (more)
Target Type: Private Citizens & Property
Name of Entity	Civilian
Specific Description	The home of Elizabeth O'Neill in Portadown
Nationality of Target	Northern Ireland

Additional Information
Hostages	No
Property Damage	No

How

Weapon Information
Type	Sub-type
Explosives/Bombs/Dynamite	Other Explosive Type
Weapon Details
A pipe bomb was used in the attack.

Additional Information
Suicide Attack?	No
Situation of Multi-Party Conflict?	Unknown
Part of Multiple Incident?	No
Criterion 1 (more)	Yes
Criterion 2 (more)	Yes
Criterion 3 (more)	Yes
Doubt Terrorism Proper (more)	Yes
Alternate Designation (more)	Other Crime Type

Who

Perpetrator Information
Name	Claimed Responsibility
Red Hand Defenders (RHD) (suspected)	No

Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators	Unknown
Number of Captured Perpetrators	5

Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties	1 Fatalities / 0 Injured
Total Number of Fatalities	1
Number of U.S. Fatalities	0
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities	0
Total Number of Injured	0
Number of U.S. Injured	0
Number of Perpetrators Injured	0

Sources

Sources
"Five Held After Fatal Ulster Bombing, Loyalist Suspected," Agence France Presse (North European Service), June 6, 1999."
"Ulster: Loyalist Bomb Kills Woman In her Home," The Sunday Telegraph (Internet version), June 6, 1999."
"UK: 5 Arrested in Ulster Bomb Probe," Press Association, June 5, 1999."