Shots fired at Catholic family’s home
A teenager has escaped injury following a gun attack on the home of a Catholic family in the Kingsbury Gardens area of Coleraine.
Two shots were fired at the kitchen window and living room of the house at around 11pm on Saturday.
The family is on holiday but the teen, who is staying with his granny, had called round to check on the property when the gunman passed him just after the attack.
Local SDLP MLA John Dallat said the family has been targeted before.
“It’s not the first time the family’s been subject to intimidation of a sectarian nature. This has manifested itself through loyalist paramilitaries who sadly will not give up.
“The issue’s quite clear in their mind and in mine, the attack was sectarian. It’s the type of thing that raises its head as a seasonal thing.
“No-one knows who will be next to have a shotgun through their window.
Mr Dallat said he spoke to the family who are currently in Turkey.
“They were distraught. They’re so far away from home and they just want to be back. They’ve had their holiday ruined.
“The family had gone away on holidays to escape the kind of trouble that manifests itself from time to time.”
Meanwhile police believe a racist motive may be behind an attack on the home of foreign nationals in the Larne Road area of Ballyclare at around 1am on Sunday.
Shots were fired at the rear of the house damaging the bathroom window.
The two men and two women, who were in the property at the time, were left shaken but unhurt following the attack.
