Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
MAN, 62, IS DEFIANT AFTER BOMB ATTACK
Terror after home targeted by ‘loyalist gang’
A DEFIANT resident has told how he does not want to move after his property was targeted by a suspected loyalist gang.
Andy Logue, 62, was in his nextdoor neighbour’s flat when a brick, a petrol bomb and a pipe bomb were thrown through the window of his home on Monday night.
Luckily the devices did not explode and police quickly arrived at the scene in the Waterside area of Derry to secure the area.
The PSNI said they believe a loyalist gang is responsible for the attack.
Mr Logue, who has lived alone at the property on Heron Way for the past four months, described the moment he realised his home had been targeted.
He revealed: “We were just sitting in my neighbour’s flat having a cup of tea and then we heard this massive crash so I went out to see what it was.
“I saw all the glass on the lawn and then this device but I didn’t know what it was at the time.
“Thankfully the police came out very quickly and got us all out of the way.
“We were very lucky because the device or petrol bomb didn’t go off, but it was a very scary experience.”
Residents in the area had to be evacuated from their homes following the incident and many were put up overnight in the nearby Lincoln Courts Community Centre. Mr Logue added he does not understand the motive behind the attack.
He said: “I keep myself to myself, I’m not involved in any of this nonsense.
“I am not sectarian in the slightest. The way I see it is if you cut yourself you’ll bleed the same as everyone else, no matter what religion you are.”
Derry SDLP councillor Martin Reilly added it was “luck rather than design” that tragedy was avoided.
He said: “Those behind this depraved attack have no place in our city.
“Their violence has been rejected by people here in the past and it will continue to be rejected today.”
Mr Logue added despite the horror ordeal he does not want to leave his home.
He added: “My family want me to move because they think I am under some sort of threat.
“But I want to stay put to see what comes of all this. I want to get to the bottom of it because I don’t understand why my home was attacked. I would like the police to find the people responsible for this so I can ask them – why me?”
PSNI Supt Gordon Mccalmont said: “This was a bomb left in the heart of the local community – a reckless act at the hands of what we believe to be a loyalist paramilitary gang. Thankfully the pipe bomb didn’t explode or we could have been looking at something very different today.
“We will be investigating a number of lines of enquiry, including the fact this may well have been a sectarian attack.
“These people have nothing to offer society and no place in a democratic society.
“They falsely believe their agenda and their after-dark activities are welcome and wanted in a city where the majority of citizens simply want to live in peace.
“I am appealing for the community’s support in identifying the perpetrators and bringing them to justice.”