'We were like blood or family, even though we weren't related'
Senior police officer John Caldwell's first thought would have been to protect the children near where he was shot in Omagh last night, according to his childhood friend.
"I would say knowing John, that that was about moving away from the kids so that they wouldn't be caught in it, that's the way he would have been thinking, to protect them."I know some people like to criticise the police and that, but I can honestly say anyone that I know of wouldn't have a bad word to say about him."
The man added that he did not see John as frequently as he would have when they were both younger, but that the friendliness always remained the same."You mightn't have seen him for a month or two, but it was like you'd just been chatting to him at the house five minutes ago, it was always very close and friendly.
"I'd say because John was such a good friend to people, they'll be inundated with people offering the same thing."We were sitting last night if you could only get to chat to him and say how you feel about him and to tell him to keep going." "The last time he called was last Saturday, just to catch up and I said 'well, he's improving, he's still in intensive care, but he's improving'."That tells you everything about John Caldwell.
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