LAST UPDATE | 5 Jul 2023

THREE MEN HAVE been charged in the investigation into the attempted murder of Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell earlier this year.

Detectives in the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) arrested the three men yesterday morning under the Terrorism Act.

The men are aged 45, 47 and 58 and were arrested in Newtownabbey, Coalisland and Belfast respectively.

All three have since been charged with preparatory acts of terrorism.

The 45-year-old man and the 58-year-old man have further been charged with possession of articles for use in terrorism, and providing property for the purposes of terrorism.

The three men are expected to appear before Dungannon Magistrates Court via videolink this morning.

DCI Caldwell was shot multiple times on an evening in February at a sports complex on the Killyclogher Road in Omagh.

It occurred while he was off-duty at the end of a coaching session for a youth football team.

There have been 31 arrests in the investigation to date, which includes some instances of the same individual being arrested more than once.

Caldwell spent several weeks in intensive care after the shooting.

The senior detective had led a number of high-profile PSNI investigations in Northern Ireland.

In May he was seen in public for the first time since the incident, at a garden party in Hillsborough during a visit by King Charles and Camilla, where he had a private audience with Charles.

He spoke in public when he was presented with the special recognition award at the Sunday Life Spirit of Northern Ireland Awards on Friday night.

-With additional reporting from Press Association