Family of murdered Birmingham soldier Mark Quinsey want answers
THE family of murdered Birmingham soldier Mark Quinsey today demanded to know why his Ulster barracks was not guarded by fully armed soldiers.
Sentry point soldiers carrying assault rifles had been replaced by civilians armed with pistols at the Massereene Barracks as part of the Northern Ireland peace process. But the “softly softly” tactic proved useless when a terrorist gang struck on Saturday night, unleashing more than 60 bullets in 30 seconds as a pizza delivery was made to the base in Antrim.
Sapper Quinsey, aged 23, of the 38 Engineers Regiment, and from Highters Heath, died alongside Sapper Patrick Azimkar, aged 21, from north London. They were not armed and civilian sentries on duty at the barracks did not fire a shot.
Today, Sapper Quinsey’s uncle James Pratt said: “What happened was purely a cold-blooded murder, but the Army should have done more to protect the troops at the base.
“They should have bulletproof vests to wear when they are outside the gates and why were there private security guards with handguns on guard, instead of soldiers with proper automatic weapons and rifles?
His aunt, Shirley Quinsey, aged 61, from Handsworth, said: “It’s terrible the barracks was not better protected.
Share
