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Two arrests have been made in death of Northern Ireland journalist Lyra McKee

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McKee was killed as she covered riots in Northern Ireland.
Two arrests have been made in connection to the death of journalist Lyra McKee, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said in a statement posted on their website Saturday morning. McKee was shot earlier this week while covering riots in Northern Ireland.
“This morning we arrested two teenagers, aged 18 and 19, under the Terrorism Act and conducted a number of searches as part of the ongoing investigation into Lyra’s murder,” Detective Superintendent Jason Murphy told reporters, adding she was killed by indiscriminately fired shots Thursday night in Derry, also referred to as Londonderry.
Just before she was killed, McKee tweeted a picture of a plume of smoke in the distance: “Derry tonight. Absolute madness.”
Ahead of the shooting, police were conducting searches in the area, looking for firearms and explosives they believed were being stockpiled for a series of planned attacks by dissident Republicans. During the searches, a crowd gathered and Molotov cocktails were thrown at officers. Two vehicles were also hijacked and set on fire. As the crowd grew amid the chaos, shooting began.
Cell phone video allegedly shows a masked gunman with a handgun firing into the crowd, according to the BBC. McKee, who was near a police vehicle, was shot and wounded; she was taken to a local hospital, but died of her wounds.
Northern Ireland has seen a spike in conflict in recent months, but tensions can be traced back more than 50 years. These tensions came to a violent head during a period referred to as the “Troubles,” which saw paramilitary groups fighting in the streets. The battles were over a longstanding divide between “Unionists,” a largely Protestant group identifying with and loyal to the United Kingdom, and “Nationalists” or “Republicans,” mainly Catholics, who want to see Northern Ireland united with its southern neighbor, the Republic of Ireland.

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