The home of a young Armagh family – including a toddler and pregnant mother – was attacked in the early hours of the morning (November 18).
Their home, in the Jubilee Park area of the city, had the front windows at the bottom of the two storey property smashed at approximately 4.45am in what a relative of the homeowners has branded a “disgusting hate crime”.
Speaking to Armagh I, the man – who wished to remain anonymous – said the family had “scraped and saved every penny they could” to buy the home less than three months ago.
They moved into the area just three months ago and instead of feeling welcomed to the area, the attack has left the family “devastated” and in total shock.
Inside the home at the time of the incident was a father, his pregnant wife and their one-and-a-half year old toddler.
The relative believes that the attack was sectarian in nature as the couple are in a “mixed marriage” adding: “It is a warning. Who knows what could be next? No one deserves to be intimidated and harassed in their own home.”
The homeowners then jointly spoke to Armagh I about the ordeal, explaining: “We were putting the Christmas tree up last night, all excited putting the decorations up and this has definitely made us take a step back.
“Our priority right now is our child. The stress on anyone is enough and his is not a great position to be in. We have come through so much as a couple and we are ready to start fresh and start a new life here and I just don’t feel safe right now. It was meant to be a nice new chapter in our lives and now it’s been marred.”
After speaking with police this morning, the couple believe the windows were smashed with a “weapon” of some sort, as there were no signs of anything having come through into their property.
The father was actually in the downstairs of the home when the attack occurred, having fallen asleep on the sofa. Describing the attack they said “there was one loud bang” but as they moved through the downstairs to assess the damage they then realised that a second window had also been smashed.
In a sad twist of fate, they had removed their Ring camera doorbell the night before to charge it back up to full battery. The father had the intention of replacing it again that morning on his way out to work… but the damage had already been done.
The pair say they are incredibly hardworking, each with roles in caring and supportive capacities working with vulnerable youth and disabled children. They say they “keep themselves to themselves” and regrettably haven’t even had “the chance” to meet their neighbours properly yet… but are more than happy to.
Even despite the events of this morning the pair are determined to make Jubilee Park their home and are refusing to let this impact on normal family life.
The attack has been condemned by several DUP representatives, with Councillor Scott Armstrong commenting: “I condemn any attacks on properties and urge those who carried this out to reflect on their actions.
“Thankfully nobody was physically injured. I would urge anyone if additional information to contact PSNI.”
Commenting on the incident Newry & Armagh DUP MLA William Irwin stated: “This is clearly a concerning incident and my thoughts are with the family who have been targeted in this attack. This incident is very much unwelcome, especially given this is a residential area.
“For this type of activity to being taking place on a home with a family inside is deeply worrying and I would urge anyone who may have witnessed anything suspicious around the time of the attack, to come forward and assist the PSNI with their inquiries.”
Police received a report of criminal damage to a residential property in Jubilee Terrace, Armagh, in the early hours of Tuesday November 18.
It was reported that two windows at the front of the property were smashed at around 4.50am.
Sergeant Magill said: “We are treating this as a sectarian hate crime and would appeal to anyone with information which may help our investigation to contact us on 101, quoting reference 109 of 18/11/25.”
Alternatively, you can submit a report online at http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/.
You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/
