By BRIAN MELLEY and PAN PYLAS, Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — A former British paratrooper was found not guilty Thursday on murder charges relating to the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre in Northern Ireland that saw 13 people killed in a flurry of bullets.

Judge Patrick Lynch ruled at Belfast Crown Court that prosecutors failed to prove that the veteran identified only as “Soldier F” had opened fire, with intent to kill, on unarmed civilians who were running to safety.

Soldier F was the only soldier ever charged in connection with the events on Jan. 20, 1972 in Londonderry, also known as Derry. It was one of the deadliest incidents of the period known as “The Troubles,” the conflict between mainly Catholic supporters of a united Ireland and predominantly Protestant forces who wanted North

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