It has been claimed at the inquiry that Bloody Sunday was used by the IRA to provoke a reaction from the British army.
The claim was made by a former junior officer in the Royal Anglian regiment, who was stationed in Derry at the time.
Identified as INQ 2238, the former lieutenant was stationed in the area of Derry's Bishop Street on Bloody Sunday.
In his written statement, he claimed he heard the sound of a Thompson sub-machine gun from below his position.
He said he heard a burst of gunfire which lasted several seconds.
"I don't remember having any particular reaction to it because it was not the sort of fire that one feared, like a sniper's single high-velocity shot which always put you on your guard.
"This was more like a baboon beating its chest and was probably someone firing from a roof top or other elevated position just letting us know they were there," he said.
Within moments of the shots, the witness claimed he heard high-velocity fire (probably British army fire). He said he had never heard shooting on this scale before.
"My thought was that there had been a major shooting in accordance with an IRA plan to provoke the army into a reaction," he said.
Representing the majority of Bloody Sunday families, lawyer Karen Quinlivan suggested the witness could not have accurately identified a Thompson sub-machine gun (favoured by the IRA) from his location.
But the former soldier reminded her he was unsure of his exact position.
Ms Quinlivan suggested the witness was not telling the truth about the Thompson,
However, former soldier INQ 2238 said he had not made up his evidence.
