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| Soldier recalls fatal Massereene gun attack | Soldier recalls fatal Massereene gun attack |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| A soldier who was injured during the Real IRA gun attack at Massereene Army base has spoken about the impact it has had on his life. | A soldier who was injured during the Real IRA gun attack at Massereene Army base has spoken about the impact it has had on his life. |
| Marc Fitzpatrick was hit by four bullets during the ambush in Antrim in March 2009. | Marc Fitzpatrick was hit by four bullets during the ambush in Antrim in March 2009. |
| In an interview for a BBC programme, Crimewatch: Caught in the Crossfire, the Welshman described how he has struggled to cope. | In an interview for a BBC programme, Crimewatch: Caught in the Crossfire, the Welshman described how he has struggled to cope. |
| Sappers Patrick Azimkar and Mark Quinsey were killed in the attack. | Sappers Patrick Azimkar and Mark Quinsey were killed in the attack. |
| Marc, 25, told the programme how the shootings had affected him. | Marc, 25, told the programme how the shootings had affected him. |
| "I was like a ghost for the first year or two. I just didn't think I was alive. | "I was like a ghost for the first year or two. I just didn't think I was alive. |
| "It was such a mad experience. | "It was such a mad experience. |
| "It wasn't so much the physical stuff, it was the mental side of it. Why did I survive and not one of the others?" | "It wasn't so much the physical stuff, it was the mental side of it. Why did I survive and not one of the others?" |
| Marc, whose family are from Caerphilly, was injured just hours before he was due to fly to Afghanistan with the 38 Engineer Regiment. | Marc, whose family are from Caerphilly, was injured just hours before he was due to fly to Afghanistan with the 38 Engineer Regiment. |
| One other soldier was injured in the gun attack and two pizza delivery men were seriously wounded. | One other soldier was injured in the gun attack and two pizza delivery men were seriously wounded. |
| Marc, who had been in the army for five years at the time of the attack, said he had never experienced such fear in his life. | Marc, who had been in the army for five years at the time of the attack, said he had never experienced such fear in his life. |
| He said the sheer horror of that night could have been a reason why he started getting into fights afterwards. | He said the sheer horror of that night could have been a reason why he started getting into fights afterwards. |
| "I was very afraid that night. I'm a man, I've never been that afraid before. It took a dent out of my manhood and I quite possibly wanted to prove to myself that I was a man." | "I was very afraid that night. I'm a man, I've never been that afraid before. It took a dent out of my manhood and I quite possibly wanted to prove to myself that I was a man." |
| However, the Welshman is now engaged and beginning to look to the future. | |
| He has a baby boy, called Blake Pat. The child was given his middle name in memory of Marc's best friend Patrick Azimkar who was killed in the attack. | He has a baby boy, called Blake Pat. The child was given his middle name in memory of Marc's best friend Patrick Azimkar who was killed in the attack. |
| "He is lush," Marc said of his little boy. "I do the day feeds. You can't get your head round it until he is actually there. I keep on thinking: 'When are we going to give him back?' But he's here for life." | "He is lush," Marc said of his little boy. "I do the day feeds. You can't get your head round it until he is actually there. I keep on thinking: 'When are we going to give him back?' But he's here for life." |
| Marc admits he is "not fully recovered but back on the right path". He is thinking about going to college later this year. | Marc admits he is "not fully recovered but back on the right path". He is thinking about going to college later this year. |
| "In the next ten years... I'll be married and (have) a job, just like a normal person," he said. | "In the next ten years... I'll be married and (have) a job, just like a normal person," he said. |
| Crimewatch Survivors: Caught in the Crossfire will be shown on BBC One on Thursday at 21:00 BST. | Crimewatch Survivors: Caught in the Crossfire will be shown on BBC One on Thursday at 21:00 BST. |