PIPE BOMB DAMAGES NORTH BELFAST HOME

Police said a pipe bomb exploded after someone pushed it through the letterbox of Nicola Nugent’s home on Stanhope Street in north Belfast at about 3am on Friday. Nugent and her four children escaped, and no one was injured. The explosion set off the fire alarm and filled the hallway with smoke, according to Nugent and police. Nugent said she believed someone had targeted her home by mistake. She said she could not understand why anyone would attack her family.

Nugent said the blast woke her and she tried to get her children out of the house. “There was so much smoke so we couldn't really see what they were doing,” she said. Police said the device exploded fully, damaging the front door and hallway. Nugent also reported damage to the hall floor and holes in the roof. Officers evacuated nearby residents while Ammunition Technical Officers examined what remained of the device.

The cordons later came down, allowing residents to return to their homes, but Nugent said she could not return to hers for several days. Sinn Féin assembly member Carál Ní Chuilín condemned the attack and said the family were “very, very lucky”. Ní Chuilín described it as an attempt to murder them. Detective Sergeant Stevenson said the family had escaped injury but were shaken by what happened. Police have opened an investigation and appealed for anyone with information to contact them.