Gang rampage at Traveller site in west Belfast

A woman and her five children escaped injury by hiding in a cupboard during a gun attack on their home in Belfast today.

A woman and her five children escaped injury by hiding in a cupboard during a gun attack on their home in Belfast today.

The shooting happened as a gang of men went on the rampage on a site used by members of the travelling community in the west of the city.

Police, who are treating the attack as attempted murder, said two cars and a caravan were smashed up before the windows on the house at Glen Road Heights were broken.

A shotgun blast ripped through the front door as the family dived for cover.

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Another bullet was fired into the air and an elderly woman suffered hand injuries when a gardening tool was hurled through the window by a gang member.

A fleet of cars, one with Republic of Ireland registration plates and another with a broken rear window, then left the area towing caravans.

The Lord Mayor of Belfast, Sinn Fein's Mr Alex Maskey, was stunned by the attack.

The West Belfast MLA said: "It's very, very disturbing to hear about such a terrifying ordeal.

"Any right thinking person would want nothing to do with something like this and it's just fortunate there were not more serious injuries."

PA