‘New IRA’ blamed for fatal shooting of journalist in Northern Ireland riot

WATCH: Authorities say Lyra McKee was shot by dissident paramilitaries who were trying to shoot police officers. As Redmond Shannon reports, it’s a painful reminder of the dangerous situations many journalists face. Hamilton said the force’s assessment “is that the New IRA are most likely to be the ones behind this and that forms our primary line of inquiry.”A murder investigation has been launched but there have been no arrests. Hamilton appealed for calm to prevail on Easter weekend.Speaking in Dublin, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said the people of Ireland and Northern Ireland had chosen peace and cooperation 21 years ago and will not be “dragged into the past” by political violence.WATCH: Authorities explain police response to Northern Ireland shooting, riots U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May called the death of McKee “shocking and truly senseless.”

“She was a journalist who died doing her job with great courage,” May said.

The New IRA is a small group who reject the 1998 Good Friday agreement that marked the Irish Republican Army’s embrace of a political solution to the long-running violence known as “The Troubles” that claimed more than 3,700 lives.The group is also blamed for a Londonderry car bombing that did not cause any injuries in January. It is regarded as the largest of the splinter dissident groups still operating and has been linked to several other killings in the past decade.WATCH: A female journalist died on Friday after shots rang out during riots in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. 
Deputy Chief Constable Stephen Martin said Friday that police believe more than one person was involved in the shooting.“We certainly believe there was more than one person who was involved in this last night. Obviously only one person pulled the trigger but there was more than one person,” he said.He said the violence started after police entered the area to search for weapons and that the gunman was aiming at policemen when the rioting intensified.“The full and total responsibility for Lyra McKee’s death lies with the organization that sent someone out with a gun,” he said.Londonderry Mayor John Boyle said the city was united in mourning McKee’s death.“I have known her since she was 16 years old,” he said. “She was bright, she was warm, she was witty. But most of all she was an outstanding individual, a great friend to so, so many people in this city in the short time that she was with us.”WATCH: Politicians condemn Northern Ireland shooting as murder inquiry launched into journalist’s death There has been an increase in tensions in Northern Ireland in recent months with sporadic violence, much of it focused in Londonderry, also known as Derry.McKee rose to prominence in 2014 with a moving blog post — ”Letter to my 14 year old self” — describing the struggle of growing up gay in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland.In the post, she described the shame she felt at 14 as she kept the “secret” of being gay from her family and friends and the love she eventually received when she was finally able to reveal it.McKee had recently signed a contract to write two books.Hours before her death, she tweeted a photo of the riot with the words: “Derry tonight. Absolute madness.”WATCH BELOW: Ex-British soldier charged in ‘Bloody Sunday’ murders