Killing of Gillian Johnston

Gillian Johnston was a 21-year-old chemist and shop worker from Tawnaghgorm, Leggs, near Belleek, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. She had been engaged for two years and had dated her fiancé since she was fifteen.

On 18 March 1988, Johnston and her fiancé were sitting in her father's car outside her home when members of the Provisional IRA opened fire on the vehicle, discharging 27 bullets. Johnston was killed in the attack, and her fiancé was wounded.

The IRA later stated that the shooting had been a mistake, claiming the intended target had been Johnston's brother, whom they alleged was a member of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR). The IRA subsequently acknowledged it had also been mistaken about the brother's alleged UDR membership.

Following public revulsion over Johnston's killing, along with other killings attributed to the same unit, the IRA disbanded the active service unit responsible for carrying out the attack. Irish police (the Gardaí) linked a man in his mid-20s, described as a key member of the Ballyshannon Active Service Unit (ASU), to the murders of Johnston, Harry Keys, and William Hassard and Frederick Love.

Johnston's employer described her after her death, saying: "... the kind of girl who was always smiling. I don't think I ever heard her say a bad word about anyone, people are just horrified."