Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Outrage over hoax car bomb hijacking
Delivery man told to drive fake device to PSNI station
A VEHICLE driven to a police station contained an elaborate hoax device made to look like a car bomb, a senior officer said yesterday.
Police said an obvious line of inquiry was that dissident republicans were behind an incident in Derry.
A delivery driver was hijacked by masked men at gunpoint and made to drive to Waterside police station on Sunday night.
Chief Superintendent Nigel Goddard said a security operation following the hijacking had caused “massive chaos”.
It meant some children were unable to get to school and disruption with access to Altnagelvin Hospital. The incident comes days after cops said they believed the New IRA could be responsible for an incident when two officers escaped injury after their car was targeted in a bomb attack.
Mr Goddard said: “At approximately 10.30pm last night [Sunday] three masked men hijacked a delivery driver in the Curryneirin area of the Waterside.
“They placed an object in the back of his car and told him to drive to Waterside station and to abandon the car there. Which he did.
“This led to a protracted, overnight operation in order to make that vehicle safe and to keep the community safe.
“It is an elaborate hoax device, meant to look like a car bomb.
“There seems to be a petrol canister with a pipe attached to it.
“Obviously that has caused considerable disruption across the area and needs to be condemned as reckless and futile.
“People had to be moved out of their homes.
“The actions of those behind what was an attack on the community are reckless and futile.
“We hope the driver who was caught up in this horrific ordeal can recover and our thoughts are with him today.”
Asked if police believed dissident republicans were responsible for the latest attack, the officer said: “It is the obvious line of inquiry at the minute.
“My colleague on Friday thought given the location and nature the New IRA was the most likely grouping and I have nothing to disagree with that at this point in time.”
While cordons remain in place in the area as officers conduct inquiries, the main Crescent Link has reopened.
Sinn Fein vice presi
People had to be moved out of their homes CHIEF SUPT NIGEL GODDARD
dent Michelle O’neill said the community needed to unite against “these reckless actions”.
She tweeted: “These people that reach for the past need to hear that’s it’s not available to them.
“We must all unite against these reckless actions.”
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said those behind the alert had nothing to offer. Mr Eastwood added: “This horrendous incident has shocked people in Derry and right across the North. Our thoughts are with the driver who has been through a terrible ordeal and all the people affected.
“Those behind this are achieving nothing by disrupting the lives of people in our city. They enjoy no support in this community and are actively harming the cause of Irish unity through their futile actions.”
DUP MLA Gary Middleton said: “The disruption has been incredible but so has the community response.”
The Taoiseach has condemned the hijacking incident in the “strongest” possible manner. Mr Martin said there is “no more room” for violence.