Security alert is underway in Londonderry after armed men in masks attempted to hijack a car
- Masked men attempted to hijack a car in the Hollymount Park region on Friday
- A suspect device was located close to a children’s sports ground
A ‘suspicious device’ was found near the children’s GAA tournament site in Londonderry which caused a lockdown due to a security alert following a hijacking.
Police are in attendance following the discovery of a suspicious device in the Corrody Road area of the city on Saturday.
Police received a report that three masked men attempted to hijack a delivery driver in the Hollymount Park region at 9.35pm on Friday..
It is believed the men ran off towards the Corrody Road area of the city and were armed with knives and a firearm.
Police sealed the area off after they found a suspicious device which caused huge disruption in Waterside just yards away from where many children were playing a Gaelic football tournament today, according to Belfast Live.
Police received a report that three masked men attempted to hijack a delivery driver in the Hollymount Park region at 9.35pm on Friday, February, 17 (file image)
Detective Chief Inspector Logue said: ‘Police received a report that a delivery driver had been approached by three masked men who tried to hijack his car.
‘The masked men were armed with what is believed to be knives and a firearm.
‘The suspects ran off in the direction of Corrody Road where the suspect device was located close to a sport sground.
‘The impact to the delivery driver and wider community is plain to see, with a large-scale community safety operation and investigation now in place and ongoing.
‘Our investigation is underway and we are appealing to anyone who was in the area and who noticed any suspicious activity to contact us on 101 quoting reference number 1988 17/02/23.
‘We are also appealing to anyone with dash cam footage which can assist to dial 101 also.’
Sinn Féin councillor Christopher Jackson said there is huge disruption to people in the Waterside as a result of Saturday’s security alert.
He told Belfast Live: ‘It’s understood that a suspect device has been found near Corrody Road and police have sealed off the area.
‘This has caused huge disruption to people in the Waterside today, just yards from where children were playing a Gaelic football tournament.’
It is believed there were no children playing in the sports ground at the time on Friday when the incident was reported.