Police have spoken to around 160 witnesses following the deaths of three teenagers at the Greenvale Hotel in Cookstown, and arrangements are being made to speak to more.
Those who died were 16-year-old Connor Currie from the Dungannon area, 17-year-old Lauren Bullock from the Donaghmore area and 17-year-old Morgan Barnard also from the Dungannon area.
Police say more lives could have been lost in the incident which occurred on St Patrick’s night. They are appealing to more young people to come forward and have reassured potential witnesses that they are only interested in establishing what happened.
Earlier today (Tuesday) two people were arrested. It’s understood they both work at the Greenvale Hotel.
Initial CCTV viewing suggests as many as 400 people were in the queue or car park at that time.
Detective Chief Superintendent Raymond Murray, Head of Serious Crime Branch has been speaking following the tragedy.
“It is difficult to appreciate the level of grief these families must be feeling as Sunday turned into their worst nightmare.
“Over a day into our investigation I can tell you we have already traced the identities of over 160 witnesses and have already spoken to a number of young people who were in the queue at the Greenvale Hotel on Sunday night. Arrangements have been made to speak to many more over the coming days,” he said.
And he said he wanted to thank everyone who has spoken with police so far, however, there is still a significant number of people who were there that night, in the queue, and police need them to come forward so they can understand what happened.
“A number of parents have indicated they are concerned that their children, who may have been underage, were trying to enter a licensed premises. I want to reassure you, the focus of our investigation is not the age of people who were at the event – it is about trying to find answers for the families of the three teenagers who tragically died – we need to know what you saw so the heartbroken families of Connor, Lauren and Morgan know what happened to their children,” he said.
Detective Chief Superintendent Raymond Murray is asking parents to talk to their children and encourage them to come forward.
“Talk to your children, reassure them – we know they may be scared – but again I can assure you we are only interested in establishing what happened. Their account of events on Sunday night could be crucial to establishing how Connor, Lauren and Morgan died,” he said.
There are a number of ways to contact police:
Detectives can be contacted at the dedicated incident room at Dungannon police station by calling 101, extension 53055. You can visit the dedicated room at the Burnavon Arts Centre in Cookstown.
Anyone with any information, images or footage can also pass it to police via the following link: https://mipp.police.uk/