Soldier Who Died During Live Fire Exercise In Northumberland Named

A soldier who died while taking part in a night-time live firing exercise at a training facility in Northumberland has been named as Private Conor McPherson.

The 24-year-old suffered a serious head wound after being shot during the exercise at the Otterburn training area.

Emergency services were called to the scene at 11.15pm on Monday night, but the soldier was pronounced dead at the scene.

Pte McPherson, from Paisley, Renfrewshire, enlisted with the Royal Regiment of Scotland in May 2014 as a combat infantryman.

After training at Catterick, he was posted to The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, in February last year.

He had been based at Fort George, Inverness.

His commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Alasdair Steele, said: "Private McPherson was a capable young soldier who had previously trained in both Kenya and France.

"He was hugely committed about his career in the Army, he had aspirations to join the Machine Gun platoon and attend a junior leadership course at the start of next year.

"He constantly drove to develop himself physically and was well liked among his peers for his sharp wit and sense of humour.

"However, Private McPherson's true passion was to his parents and his older sister - he was part of a very close-knit family, and his great joy was spending time with them at the weekends and over leave.

"The entire battalion's thoughts are very much with his family and friends."

Northumbria Police and the Ministry of Defence launched an investigation to establish the exact circumstances surrounding the soldier's death, and a cordon remains in place.

There are currently no details on whether any other personnel were involved.

Sky's Defence Correspondent, Alistair Bunkall, has spoken to officials within the MoD who said they do not believe suicide was a factor in the soldier's death.

He added that there have been no known arrests in connection with the shooting.