Young people attacked with bricks and bottles leaving Waterside youth club

A group of children came under attack from a masked gang while leaving a youth club in the Waterside last night.

Bricks and bottles were thrown at the children by a group of around twelve young people wearing scarves over their faces.

The children were also subjected to verbal abuse during the incident, which happened on Dungiven Road shortly before 9.30pm on Tuesday evening.

Councillor Jackson believes the attack on the Dungiven Road was motivated by sectarianism, he said:

"One parent in particular said that she felt frightened for her own life. She grabbed a couple of the children that she knew and put them in the back seat of her car and told them to lie down on the floor until she got them to safety. It’s hard to imagine the fear these children must have being going through.

“At a time when communities in the Waterside are striving to cement peace and encourage reconciliation it would appear that there is a very small minority intent on living in the past."

Police say the gang made off when they arrived at the scene.

Inspector Rosemary Thompson said:

“This was a frightening incident for the young people who were inside the club and also for the adults who came to collect their children. We are treating this as a sectarian hate incident and our enquiries are ongoing.

“We would ask anyone who has information in relation to this incident to contact us on 101, quoting ref: 1131 200916.”