{"id":418264,"date":"2026-04-26T10:40:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T10:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/418264\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T10:40:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T10:40:10","slug":"car-explosive-detonated-outside-northern-ireland-police-station-was-sent-to-kill-officers-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/418264\/","title":{"rendered":"Car explosive detonated outside Northern Ireland police station \u2018was sent to kill officers\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

An explosive device that detonated outside Dunmurry police station was sent to kill officers, the chairman of the Northern Ireland Policing Board<\/a> has said.<\/p>\n

A security alert is ongoing in the area, on the outskirts of Belfast, in Northern Ireland<\/a> following the explosion on Sunday morning, April 26th.<\/p>\n

Homes in the area have been evacuated and members of the public have been advised to avoid the scene.<\/p>\n

Brendan Mullan, the chairman of the Police Service of Northern Ireland\u2019s (PSNI) oversight body, has condemned those responsible for the attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis explosive device was sent to kill officers and cause maximum harm in an attack which was in the heart of a residential area,\u201d Mullan said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose responsible had callous disregard for people living close to the station and who so easily could have been caught up in this explosion.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a miracle no-one was seriously injured and we thank the officers, ATO and emergency services who initially responded, and have been working to ensure everyone\u2019s safety since.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the second incident at a police station in recent weeks which is depressing. The people have spoken when they overwhelmingly endorsed the Good Friday Agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ForensicForensic officers gather evidence at the scene of a reported car explosion near Dunmurry police station. Photograph: Charles McQuillan\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

First Minister Michelle O\u2019Neill<\/a> said those behind the attack \u201cspeak for absolutely no-one\u201d.<\/p>\n

She posted on social media: \u201cThey have no vision, no support, and have nothing to offer our society. Our communities deserve peace. No-one is going to deny our young people and future generations that. We will keep progressing and we will keep moving forward to a better future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sinn F\u00e9in<\/a> Assembly member for the area Danny Baker expressed concern in a post on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere have been reports of an explosion close to the Dunmurry police station,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would ask anyone travelling in that direction to avoid the area and if residents need support, to get in touch.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this stage, there is very little information, and I hope no-one is hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

DUP<\/a> leader Gavin Robinson described the reports as \u201cdeeply concerning\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"AnyoneAnyone with information about those responsible is urged to report it to the police on 101, or anonymously through Crimestoppers. Photograph: Charles McQuillan\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

He said: \u201cIf this was another attempt by dissident republicans to intimidate communities and target the police, then it must be met with the full force of the law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robinson added: \u201cOur police officers and the wider public should never have to face this kind of danger. Those responsible must be identified and brought before the courts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn<\/a> said he is \u201cappalled\u201d by the incident.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a shameless and cowardly attack on the brave men and women who work so hard to keep our communities safe in Northern Ireland,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mullan also said that such \u201cacts of violence have no place in a society committed to peace\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe stand united in condemnation of those responsible for this terror, and in voicing support for the work of the officers and staff of the PSNI.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mullan advised anyone with information about those responsible to report it to the police on 101, or anonymously through the Crimestoppers charity.<\/p>\n

Earlier on Sunday, the PSNI said its officers were \u201cat the scene of a security alert in the Kingsway area of Dunmurry\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cMembers of the public are asked to avoid the area. Cordons are in place and an evacuation operation is under way. An update will follow in due course.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sinn F\u00e9in MP for Belfast West Paul Maskey said in a statement: \u201cThose involved represent no one, are void of support and have nothing to offer our society. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey should get off the backs of our communities who want to live in peace and continue moving forward to a better future.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is clear is that the overwhelming majority of the public rejects these ridiculous actions and understands they achieve nothing but disruption.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BrendanBrendan Mullan: ‘This explosive device was sent to kill officers and cause maximum harm.’ Photograph: Niall Carson\/PA Wire <\/p>\n

People Before Profit MLA for Belfast West Gerry Carroll said the bomb had caused confusion, uncertainty and fear in the area. \u201cThankfully, nobody has been seriously injured but it could have been a different story altogether with this completely reckless action.\u201d<\/p>\n

Party councillor for the area, Michael Collins, added: \u201cFor all the deep and real problems that exist in our community, like poverty, inequality and state repression, planting car bombs to explode in a public place offers not a single shred of hope or positive change to people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people of West Belfast don\u2019t want car bombs in their area \u2013 nowhere does. This must end.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last month an explosive device that police described as \u201ccrude but viable\u201d was at the centre of an attempted attack on another PSNI station in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n

A delivery driver was forced at gunpoint to transport the device to Lurgan police station in an incident blamed on dissident republicans.<\/p>\n

The device did not explode on that occasion. \u2013 PA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An explosive device that detonated outside Dunmurry police station was sent to kill officers, the chairman of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":418265,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4501,61,60,43,21754],"class_list":{"0":"post-418264","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-belfast","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-police-service-of-northern-ireland-psni"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=418264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418264\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/418265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=418264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=418264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=418264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}