"The death of Lyra McKee in last night's suspected terrorist incident in Londonderry is shocking and truly senseless. My deepest condolences go to her family, friends and colleagues. She was a journalist who died doing her job with great courage," May said via Twitter.
On Thursday night, the police said that one woman was killed after shots were fired and petrol bombs were thrown in Londonderry, adding that they were treating the shooting as a terrorist incident.
The New IRA is a nationalist group protesting the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that put an end to the nearly 30-year period of violence and terrorist attacks in Northern Ireland. Over the past few years, the New IRA has carried out several terrorist attacks in the region.
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In particular, on February 22, 2017, its militants attempted to blow up a police car in Londonderry. In the 1970s and 1990s, clashes between local Catholics and Protestants occurred in Northern Ireland, accompanied by terrorist attacks. The attacks also occurred in the 2010s.