PSNI station targeted in mortar attack
A MORTAR-STYLE attack on a Londonderry police station has been condemned as an assault on the local community.
The device was fired from the back of a car towards Derry's Strand Road station shortly after midnight on Saturday.
Nobody was injured in the incident but nearby residents, including a number of elderly people, were evacuated from their homes.
Chief Superintendent Stephen Martin, District Commander, said such attacks should be condemned by everyone in society.
"Attacks such as this are an attack on the local community and the good people of Derry," he said. "This incident resulted in local people, including the elderly residents of a nearby Fold, being evacuated for a considerable time.
"Had this device exploded when it struck the station wall or veered off course, innocent people in the immediate area could have been killed or seriously injured."
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said it is believed the device was fired from the back of a Vauxhall Cavalier parked in Queen Street.
It struck the perimeter wall of the station and fell to the ground without exploding.
Roads around the station were closed to traffic to allow army bomb disposal experts to examine the car.
Northern Ireland Justice Minister David Ford said it was a senseless attack. "Those who carried this out refuse to accept the will of the vast majority of people across this island," he said. "They will not succeed."
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Monday 28 May 2012
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