Journalist Lyra McKee killed in Derry last night

A Derry-based journalist named Lyra McKee was murdered last night in Derry.

Dissident republicans are being blamed for the murder, which took place during rioting after police searches in Derry's Creggan area on Thursday night.

Lyra McKee, who was an investigative journalist, tweeted from the scene of rioting in Creggan last night:

A journalist has been killed covering riots in Derry. Her name was Lyra McKee. She was 29. She recently signed a two-book deal with Faber, who called her a "rising star of investigative journalism". This is her last tweet, sent from the scene of the unrest. pic.twitter.com/0gk1Fa7Du0

— Naomi O'Leary (@NaomiOhReally) April 19, 2019

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton said the New IRA "are likely to be the ones behind this" and detectives have started a murder inquiry.

A tweet on the PSNI Twitter account added: "ACC Mark Hamilton says the murder of Lyra McKee is ‘horrendous and unjustified’. He is appealing to those intent on violence to draw back. He says all these acts of violence are doing nothing but causing misery."

A further statement added: "ACC Mark Hamilton says a murder inquiry has been launched & appeals to anyone with information to call police. A single gunman fired shots in a residential area and as result Ms McKee was wounded. Tragically she died from her injuries."

Journalists, politicians and prominent figures from across Ireland and the UK have condemned the attack, while many of those who knew Lyra spoke of her warm personality and some of the fantastic work she did.

Theresa May said the murder was "shocking and senseless", while Leo Varadkar said: "Our solidarity also goes out to the people of Derry and to the entire journalism community. We cannot allow those who want to propagate violence, fear and hate to drag us back to the past."

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said Ms McKee was "one of the most promising journalists" in Northern Ireland.

The union's Séamus Dooley said she was a journalist of "courage, style and integrity" and a "woman of great commitment and passion."

"I have no doubt that it was that commitment which led to her presence on the streets of the Creggan last night, observing a riot situation in the city."

If you do one thing today, read Lyra's moving piece about suicide in Northern Ireland since the Good Friday Agreement: https://mosaicscience.com/story/conflict-suicide-northern-ireland/