THE First Minister of Northern Ireland has condemned those behind a bomb attack on a police station in Dunmurry over the weekend.
At around 10.50pm on April 25 a delivery driver was hijacked in the Twinbrook area of west Belfast.
He had a gas cylinder device placed in the boot of his car before being ordered to drive it to Dunmurry police station.
The driver was able to abandon the vehicle before the device exploded while local residents were being evacuated.
The incident was similar to one which took place in Co. Armagh earlier this month, where a viable device placed in the back of a hijacked delivery driver’s vehicle was driven to Lurgan Police Station but failed to detonate.
First Minister of Northern Ireland Michelle O'Neill has condemned the attackIn a statement First Minister Michelle O’Neill said those responsible for the attack over the weekend “have put lives in danger and shown a total disregard for the local community”.
“Our thoughts are with the delivery driver who was put through an extremely terrifying ordeal as well as those residents who had to be evacuated,” she added.
“It is extremely fortunate that nobody was killed or seriously injured by the selfish actions of those who have nothing to offer our society.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he “utterly condemns” the attack.
“My thoughts are with the local community and with the PSNI officers who work every day to keep people safe,” he added.
“I urge anyone with information to come forward. Those responsible will be brought to justice.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has vowed to bring those responsible 'to justice'Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn described the incident as a “cowardly attempt to cause injury and destruction”.
“By targeting a police station in the heart of a residential area, those responsible have shown a total disregard for the lives of local people and for the men and women who work to keep our communities safe,’ he said.
“We are resolute in our commitment to peace, and these actions will only strengthen our collective determination. I would urge anyone with information about who was responsible to come forward to the PSNI."
The PSNI have launched an attempted murder investigation.
Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton confirmed: “We have commenced an attempted murder investigation which will be led by our Terrorism Investigation Unit and I would appeal to anyone who may have seen the hijacked vehicle in the Twinbrook area before 11pm to contact us.”
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