11.2.05
Irelandclick.com
Bawnmore family is attacked by loyalists
Sinn Féin has blamed loyalists for an attack on the Mill Road at the weekend.
The house in a row of houses which fronts the Bawnmore estate was hit with breeze blocks in the early hours of Sunday morning. Homes on the road have been attacked numerous times before.
The attack happened around 6am while a woman was sleeping upstairs. The female victim and her husband, who wish to remain anonymous, said their house has been attacked at least half a dozen times over the past five years by paint bombs, petrol bombs and gunfire. The last time they said their house was attacked was November 2003.
“It’s an ongoing thing up here,” the woman said. “I think this is the sixth time we’ve been hit. This time round, we were lucky that they didn’t break the window. It’s toughened glass and God only knows what would have happened if they had got through.
“My neighbour heard them first. I was sleeping upstairs and I didn’t hear a thing. She said she got up when she heard the first bang she shouted out the window at them.
“She said she saw one guy in our front garden with his arms raised and about to hit our window again. She shouted at him to go away and he hit the window one more time. His mate was in a car, revving the engine with the door open. He hit the window again, made a move to run, slipped and fell and then jumped into the car.”
Speaking after the attack the homeowner said he thought the attack was very determined.
“This was quite a determined attack. They obviously came prepared, and seemed determined to break the glass,” the man said.
“It’s a sad thing, but we’re used to this kind of stuff. This house has been in the family for over 30 years and unfortunately these kind of attacks are starting to happen again.”
A spokesperson for the PSNI confirmed the attack and said inquiries were continuing. Newtownabbey councillor Briege Meehan said the attack was sectarian.
“Sinn Féin utterly condemns the attack on a house at Mill Road.
“These cowardly thugs have terrorised these families at the bottom of Mill Road and I call on the leadership of the UDA to call a halt to these despicable sectarian attacks on the nationalist people of Bawnmore.”
Journalist:: Staff Reporter
Bawnmore family is attacked by loyalists
Sinn Féin has blamed loyalists for an attack on the Mill Road at the weekend.
The house in a row of houses which fronts the Bawnmore estate was hit with breeze blocks in the early hours of Sunday morning. Homes on the road have been attacked numerous times before.
The attack happened around 6am while a woman was sleeping upstairs. The female victim and her husband, who wish to remain anonymous, said their house has been attacked at least half a dozen times over the past five years by paint bombs, petrol bombs and gunfire. The last time they said their house was attacked was November 2003.
“It’s an ongoing thing up here,” the woman said. “I think this is the sixth time we’ve been hit. This time round, we were lucky that they didn’t break the window. It’s toughened glass and God only knows what would have happened if they had got through.
“My neighbour heard them first. I was sleeping upstairs and I didn’t hear a thing. She said she got up when she heard the first bang she shouted out the window at them.
“She said she saw one guy in our front garden with his arms raised and about to hit our window again. She shouted at him to go away and he hit the window one more time. His mate was in a car, revving the engine with the door open. He hit the window again, made a move to run, slipped and fell and then jumped into the car.”
Speaking after the attack the homeowner said he thought the attack was very determined.
“This was quite a determined attack. They obviously came prepared, and seemed determined to break the glass,” the man said.
“It’s a sad thing, but we’re used to this kind of stuff. This house has been in the family for over 30 years and unfortunately these kind of attacks are starting to happen again.”
A spokesperson for the PSNI confirmed the attack and said inquiries were continuing. Newtownabbey councillor Briege Meehan said the attack was sectarian.
“Sinn Féin utterly condemns the attack on a house at Mill Road.
“These cowardly thugs have terrorised these families at the bottom of Mill Road and I call on the leadership of the UDA to call a halt to these despicable sectarian attacks on the nationalist people of Bawnmore.”
Journalist:: Staff Reporter
