 The attack—along with two large bombings the same day in Wilmslow, England—raised concerns that the IRA was trying to influence the upcoming UK general election.Martin McGuinness described the shooting as "murderous", while independent councillor Jim Canning said that more than a dozen soldiers "were threatening to shoot anybody who moved [...] while a young man lay shot on the ground".Republican sources claimed that this was another case of shoot-to-kill policy by the security forces; Ulster Unionist Party MP Ken Maginnis, however, praised the SAS for their actions.