‘Bomb’ Discovered Under Police Car In Belfast, Northern Ireland

A bomb was discovered under a police car in Belfast, Northern Ireland on Sunday. The bomb reportedly fell off the car while the police officer was backing out of his driveway.

Explosive experts with the Army were called to the scene on Upper Newtownards Road. They utilized a bomb robot to confirm that the device was a danger.

Sky News reports that George Hamilton, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Assistant Chief Constable, stated of the situation:

“It is very fortunate that this device was detected before it exploded and that no one was killed or seriously injured. It was clearly intended to kill the police officer. His family and neighbors in the vicinity were also put at risk of serious harm.”

Hamilton also blamed dissident republicans for the bombing attempt, saying, “They don’t care who they attack, they don’t care who they kill.”

The Guardian notes that police officers regularly check underneath their cars to make sure there are no bombs. A bomb under a car was responsible for the murder of police constable Ronan Kerr in April of last year. The device used was much like the one found on Sunday.

The police car was parked close to the Northern Ireland parliamentary buildings and parishioners from Stormont Presbyterian church were evacuated while officials worked to defuse the bomb.

Robin Newton, a councilor for the local Democratic Unionist party, described the attempted car bombing as planned murder. Conall McDevitt, a policing board member for the SDLP, added:

“This is a cynical and deplorable act. Those seeking to target police officers are undermining not only the stated will of the people of Ireland, who have long since rejected violence, but also the desire for a new beginning for policing in the north, which is shared by the majority of citizens.”

There is no word on when, or if, they will discover who was responsible for the attempted police officer car bombing.