Assassination
On 27 November 1975, McWhirter was assassinated by two IRA volunteers, Harry Duggan and Hugh Doherty, both of whom were members of what became known as the Balcombe Street Gang, the group for whose capture McWhirter had offered the reward. He was shot at close range in the head and chest outside his home in north London and was taken to Chase Farm Hospital, but died soon after being admitted. His killers were captured and charged with his and nine other murders. They were sentenced to life imprisonment but freed in 1998 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. Duggan said later, 'McWhirter thought he lived in Texas. He put a bounty on our heads. He asked to be killed'.
Read more about this topic: Ross McWhirter