An off-duty police officer shot by masked men in Omagh has been named as Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell.

The senior officer was shot multiple times in front of young people he had been coaching at a sports centre just before 8pm on Wednesday, in Co Tyrone.

Irish media are reporting police are searching for two suspects who were dressed in black.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) have launched an attempted murder investigation.

The force says the dissident republican group, the New IRA, is the primary focus of their investigation.

Assistant Chief Constable Mark McEwan told BBC Radio Ulster the “primary focus” on the investigation was on “violent dissident republicans”.

He said: “The investigation is at an early stage, we are keeping an open mind. There are multiple strands to that investigation.

“The primary focus is on violent dissident republicans and within that there is a primary focus as well on New IRA.”

Mr Caldwell remains in a critical but stable condition in hospital following the attack on Wednesday evening.

He is a high-profile officer who has led a number of major investigations, including taking a leading role in the murder probe following the killing of Natalie McNally in Lurgan in December.

Irish police are working closely in co-operation with their counterparts in the PSNI, and have intensified patrols amid suspicions the gunmen may have fled across the border.