Police come under attack by unruly mob

Police come under attack by unruly mob

14 September 2022

CALLS have been issued for an end to violence at the Killough Road area in Downpatrick after several nights of trouble which included running battles with police, attacks on vehicles, deliberate fires and petrol bomb attacks.

A number of residents in the Flying Horse and Model Farm areas have been left terrorised in their homes with one of them — who has lived in the area for 40 years — saying they would “leave in the morning if they could”.

Up to 30 youths were involved in a number of incidents last week with the mayhem they caused described as some the worst trouble and public disorder that has been seen in the notorious trouble hotspot for a number of years.

A couple’s car was badly damaged by stone throwing youths last Thursday evening after the driver

stopped at the Killough Road to help another motorist remove a settee blocking the road. As he did so, a group of youths emerged from an alley to stone the couple, breaking their car window, with one brick injuring a woman on the side of her head.

Police ran a gauntlet of abuse the following evening and during the early hours of Saturday morning when they were pelted with masonry, bottles and petrol bombs, with one officer sustaining a nasty head injury after being struck by a bottle and required hospital treatment

The trouble, which has been described by some in the area as “despicable and unbearable,” was so severe that the PSNI was forced to deploy aerial support, with a helicopter hovering over the Killough Road area on a number of nights last week in a in a bid to identify the location of the troublemakers.

Community representatives met with police in a hastily arranged meeting last Friday to discuss the escalation in the trouble and an appeal has been issued to anyone who knows the identity of those orchestrating the violence to hand it over so the troublemakers can be apprehended.

The Down Community Collective, an umbrella organisation for a host of community groups across the town, has condemned the violence and called for a partnership approach involving key agencies to bring about an end to it.

Group chairman, Dan McEvoy, who met with police last Friday along with his deputy, Cllr Cadogan Enright, said many people have been impacted by anti-social behaviour over recent years, acknowledging an increased police presence in the town, which included the deployment of a helicopter last week in an attempt “to curb this terrible behaviour”. 

He continued: “I expect the PSNI will continue with these extra resources and tackle directly those involved in a very focussed way. A partnership approach is the only way forward in tackling this plague and I call on everyone to contact police on the non-emergency 101 number if they see or are subjected to disorderly behaviour or use the 999 number if they feel it is warranted.”

Cllr Enright said the scale of last week’s trouble is the worst witnessed in recent years when a previous generation of very troubled young people ran out of control.

“This was dealt with then though a painful process for the whole community and I am sure this latest outbreak can be dealt with through a focused concentration on an inter-agency basis. This situation is particularly difficult for community activists who have to be on the ground trying to deliver community programs while all this is going on,” he said.

South Down MLA Cathy Mason described the level of anti-social behaviour as “deeply concerning” and revealed she has met with concerned residents in the Flying Horse and Model Farm.

Downpatrick councillor Dermot Curran has also called for an end to the violence and said he couldn’t understand the reasons behind the disruption.

A police spokesman added: “We all bear a responsibility to work together and make this community a safer place in which to live and those who hold positions of responsibility and influence are asked to help.

“Officers will continue to provide a visible policing presence in the area and I would encourage people to report any and all incidents of anti-social behaviour. The more we know, the more we can do to support people and take positive action.”