 Two men , Séamas Cusack and Desmond Beattie , were shot dead in separate incidents in the early morning and afternoon of 8 July 1971 . They were the first people to be killed by the British Army in Derry . In both cases the British Army claimed that the men were attacking them with guns or bombs , while eyewitnesses insisted that both were unarmed . The Social Democratic and Labour Party ( SDLP ) , the newly formed party of which John Hume and Ivan Cooper were leading members , withdrew from Stormont in protest , but among residents there was a perception that moderate policies had failed . The result was a surge of support for the IRA . The Provisionals held a meeting the following Sunday at which they called on people to " join the IRA " . Following the meeting , people queued up to join , and there was large @-@ scale rioting . The British Army post at Bligh 's Lane came under sustained attack , and troops there and around the city came under fire from the IRA . 
 Two men , Séamas Cusack and Desmond Beattie , <a href='uninflect' title='1'><mark>were</mark></a> shot dead in separate incidents in the early morning and afternoon of 8 July 1971 . They <a href='uninflect' title='2'><mark>were</mark></a> the first people to be killed by the British Army in Derry . In both cases the British Army claimed that the men <a href='uninflect' title='3'><mark>were</mark></a> attacking them with guns or bombs , while eyewitnesses insisted that both <a href='uninflect' title='4'><mark>were</mark></a> unarmed . The Social Democratic and Labour Party ( SDLP ) , the newly formed party of which John Hume and Ivan Cooper <a href='uninflect' title='5'><mark>were</mark></a> leading members , withdrew from Stormont in protest , but among residents <a href='dey_it' title='6'><mark>there</mark></a> was a perception that moderate policies <a href='been_done' title='7'><mark>had</mark></a> failed . The result was a surge of support for the IRA . The Provisionals<a href='been_done' title='8'><mark></mark></a> held a meeting the following Sunday at which they called on people to " join the IRA " . Following the meeting , people queued up to join , and <a href='dey_it' title='9'><mark>there</mark></a> was large @-@ scale rioting . The British Army post at Bligh <a href='null_genetive' title='10'><mark>'s</mark></a>Lane came under sustained attack , and troops there and around the city came under fire from the IRA . 
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