Gunmen Shout ‘Trick or Treat,’ Then Open Fire in Pub; 7 Killed

Two gunmen shouting “Trick or treat!” shot to death seven people and wounded 11 others Saturday night in a crowded village pub where Catholics and Protestants were celebrating Halloween.

An outlawed paramilitary group of Protestants claimed responsibility for the attack in the Rising Sun bar and lounge in Greysteel, a largely Catholic village about 70 miles west of Belfast.

Attacks on Catholics have intensified since an Irish Republican Army bomb exploded last weekend in Belfast, killing nine Protestants and an IRA bomber.

But the 60 or so people crowded into the pub were from both sides of Northern Ireland’s sectarian divide.

“We have dead and injured from both religions,” said a police spokesman, speaking in customary anonymity. Initial reports said at least one of the dead was Protestant.

Witnesses said they were waiting for a country music band to begin playing when two masked gunmen entered the bar.

“One said ‘Trick or treat.’ Then they shot everyone,” said the pub owner’s daughter, who identified herself only as Sharon. “There was nothing anyone could do but lie down and hope they weren’t hit.”