Gardaí seek man over petrol bomb incident

GARDAÍ IN Dublin are searching for a man who threw a suspected petrol bomb at the Department of Finance on Sunday night.

The device, which was aimed at a window in the Dublin offices, caused a small amount of damage in the incident, which took place at about 10.50pm.

Gardaí are seeking a man who was seen approaching the Merrion Street building from the Baggotrath Lane direction before hurling a bottle, which contained a quantity of accelerant, at the window. A small fire broke out and a garda on duty in the building tried to extinguish it before calling the fire services.

A spokesman for the department said the majority of damage was done to the window and the frame. A small amount of petrol got into the room but the damage was minimal. The room is used by a number of different offices within the department, he said.

The scene was sealed off yesterday and Garda investigators carried out a forensic examination of the room.

Gardaí issued a description of the man wanted for questioning and called for help from the public in identifying him.

The man was wearing a black fleece top that zipped up the front with a white logo on it, a light coloured T-shirt and dark blue jeans.

His face was covered with a scarf and he wore a dark coloured woolly hat.