John Patrick Cunningham (c. 1947 – 15 June 1974) was a mentally handicapped Irish civilian who was shot and killed in June 1974 while running from British soldiers in a field near his home in Benburb, County Tyrone Northern Ireland.
He was described as having the mental age of between six and 10 years old, and was known to have been afraid of men in "uniform", including soldiers, police and priests, and was known to sometimes attempt to run away from such people.
[1][2][3] In 1973, Cunningham's GP (doctor) found him hiding from soldiers in a ditch, who were attempting to arrest him.
The GP informed the RUC and British Army about Cunningham's fear of uniformed men.
[4] In 2017, Dennis Hutchings was charged with the attempted murder of John Pat Cunningham.