Suspicious device left outside PSNI officer’s family home in Derry

A suspicious device has been left outside a police officer's family home in Derry, the third such incident in the city in 24 hours.

The man’s parents discovered the device on the steps of a house in the Brandywell area on Friday morning.

A number of homes in the Lone Moor Road were then evacuated and the road was closed.

"There's no end goal can be achieved by scaring older people," the couple's daughter, Kathleen Bradley, said after the incident.

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Suspicious objects were also found on Wednesday near the family homes of two police officers in Inishowen Gardens in Creggan and Drumleck Drive in Shantallow.

A number of properties were evacuated, with some people in Creggan forced to stay away from their homes overnight. Both devices were described as “elaborate” hoaxes by the PSNI.

Catholics

The family homes of Catholic police officers, whose parents continue to live in predominantly nationalist areas of the city, have previously been targeted by dissident republicans.

A bomb exploded under a police officer’s car outside his home in the Culmore area of Derry in February 2017 as army bomb experts attempted to defuse it.

Ms Bradley – whose brother is a serving PSNI officer – said it was not the first time her parents’ home had been targetted.

“They were just leaving the house on a normal day, so there was the stress and anxiety for my parents upon seeing the device, and then there is the worry and concern because you don’t know if it’s real or not,” she said.

Ms Bradley said she hoped somebody would come forward and claim responsibility for the attack.

“As far as I’m concerned it’s an attack on an elderly couple who have done nothing but be productive members of society through their life.”

Ms Bradley sent her sympathies to the other families in Derry who had been affected by similar incident. “We’re not the only family going through this this week in Derry and I think that’s shocking,” Ms Bradley added.