Petrol bomb on Filipino family's home: Link to Ballymena disorder probed as Cullybackey arson branded race hate attack

The incident happened in Cullybackey, a Co Antrim village a little over three miles from the heart of Ballymena, at the same time as violence gripped part of the town with attacks on property.

A mother and her two children were in their Tobar Park home in the village when, not long after midnight on Tuesday (10th), a petrol bomb was thrown at a car parked outside, burning it out and damaging the home.

A PSNI spokeswoman said: “There were no reports of any injuries as colleagues from Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service dealt with the fire. This is being dealt with as a racially motivated hate crime.”

In a statement on the Ballymena disorder, the police said they are also investigating the Culleybackey arson “as part of ongoing inquiries”.

The news has rocked the small village, with area Deputy Mayor Tyler Hoey saying he’d met with the family to reassure them they are among friends in Cullybackey.

"We’re talking about a very dedicated, very hard-working family,” he said. “The father was out working when this happened, but the mother and children were home – fortunately no one was hurt, but they’ve understandably been very distressed.

“No one in Cullybackey supports this. The entire village knows this family, likes this family, and wants them to stay. They don’t want any part of some thug’s actions overnight.”

Given the village’s proximity to Ballymena, Mr Hoey thinks there could easily be a connection between the disorder and property damage seen in the town centre on the same night and the Culleybackey petrol bomb attack.

"My understanding is the Ballymena trouble continued until around 2am; this was after midnight, it could’ve been someone making their way home who stopped off to do this,” he suggested. “This could be someone who has seen the riots in Ballymena, or the situation in Los Angeles, and fancies a bit of it for himself.”

The PSNI’s Assistant Chief Constable, Ryan Henderson, described Ballymena’s night of disorder as “clearly racially motivated and targeted at our minority ethnic community and police”.