‘Disgraceful’ car bomb blast at court condemned
A CAR bomb exploded outside a courthouse in Northern Ireland following a call to police.
The explosive detonated outside a court on Bishop Street, Derry/Londonderry around 8.15pm yesterday.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) issued a warning to members of the public on social media, asking them to stay away and added “suspected car bomb”.
No-one is thought to have been injured in t he i ncident, which has been condemned by politicians.
The DUP politician Gary Middleton said last night that the incident was a “disgraceful act of terrorism” and added: “PSNI have confirmed there were no injuries in the serious incident at Bishops Street.
The party’s leader, Arlene Foster, described the incident as a “pointless act of terror” that “must be condemned in the strongest terms. Only hurts people of the city, perpetrated by people with no regard for life.”
Sinn Féin MP Elisha McCallion said: “This incident has shocked the local community.
“In particular, there are many elderly residents who live in the area who have been alarmed.
“Derry is a city moving forward and no-one wants this type of incident. It is not representative of the city.
“I would encourage anyone with information about this incident to bring it to the police.”
SDLP Member of the Legislative Assembly ( MLA) Mark H Durkan tweeted: “Whoever is responsible for this explosion outside Bishop Street Courthouse in Derry clearly hasn’t got the message that the people of Derry DO NOT want this on our streets.
“We are trying to move Derry forward and will not let anyone drag us back to the dark days of the past.”
Bollards are understood to have been installed on the street where the car detonated several years ago to deter vehicles from parking at the courthouse.
A number of homes and bars were evacuated last night before the explosion, which was reported to police shortly beforehand. The car involved is understood to have been stolen earlier in the day yesterday.
Guests at the five-star Bishopsgate hotel were also forced to leave the building, with a second car causing suspicion last night at the time The Herald on Sunday went to press.
Witnesses described hearing loud bangs and images f rom the scene show a wrecked car littering the road.
Fire fighters were unable to immediately access the scene due to safety concerns but said their main priority was to extinguish the blaze.
The PSNI warned the public to avoid the area, and appealed for anyone with information to get in touch with them.