LONDON — Police in Northern Ireland charged a 52-year-old man on Wednesday with murdering a journalist during a riot involving Irish Republican Army dissidents last year.

The shooting death of Lyra McKee caused widespread shock in a region still scarred by decades of violence.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said the man, who has not been named, was charged with murder, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, and “professing to be a member of a proscribed organization.’’

McKee, 29, was observing antipolice rioting in the city, also known as Derry, when she was killed in April 2019. The New IRA, a small paramilitary group that opposes Northern Ireland’s peace process, said its members shot McKee by accident while firing at police.

The IRA and most other paramilitary groups have disarmed, but a small number of dissidents refused to abandon violence.

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