A north Belfast community has found itself “looking after each other” after a number of homes were damaged in a sectarian-motivated attack, a local resident has said.
A group of masked individuals, who are believed to have thrown masonry at the properties, were reported to have entered the Annalee Street and Alloa Street areas at about 21:45 BST on Tuesday, police said.
Kirsty Giffen-McGrath was sat at the rear of her property, which was undamaged, and said she initially thought it was “kids messing about”.
“We all came out together, I have to say it was terrifying, I’ve never experienced anything like that before,” she told News NI.
“Today, especially with it hitting the news… it makes it very real, just how at risk you are for who you are.”
Ms Giffen-McGrath has lived in the area for several months and has “absolutely loved” the sense of community.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted. That’s exactly what we’ve got, all the kids are outside playing, all the neighbours know each other. We’re all in sync with each other, it’s been lovely.”
Following the attack, she said fearful residents came together “to try and keep the sanity and keep the nerves down”.
“Straight away it was as if we were friends for life,” she explained.
‘Stop. How would you feel?’
However, she said there is fear in the community, with residents wondering what will happen next.
“You don’t want to move, you want to be settled in your own home.”
It has been particularly worrisome for those with young families, she added.
“[For young children], it’s bound to be terrifying… some of them were in their bedrooms last night when this happened and now some of them don’t want to come home to stay with their mummies anymore.”
To the attackers, Ms Giffen-McGrath has asked: “Why?”
“Please stop… It’s sad, if it were to happen to your own family, how would you feel?”
Independent councillor Paul McCusker said the attack “came out of the blue” and was “quite shocking for a lot of residents”, particularly for those with young children.
The development is “very settled”, and residents have been living there since December without incident, according to the councillor.
“We know that a lot of Catholic families have moved in here,” he said.
“Families don’t understand why they were targeted, there was no real warning in terms of graffiti… It’s a very worrying situation.
“Speaking to families today, they just want things to settle down, they want the issue to de-escalate and they don’t want to leave their homes, and they shouldn’t have to leave their homes.”
McCusker added all agencies must now work to “identify and understand why these houses were targeted”.
He said there is a suggestion of further threats in the coming days, which he described as a “worrying situation”, but police have assured him they will maintain a presence in the area.
“Now is time for political leaders to stand up and call this out for what it is and support the residents,” he added.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) are appealing for information and witnesses.
“Enquiries are ongoing into the full circumstances and we are treating these incidents as sectarian-motivated hate crimes,” Insp Hamilton added.
A spokesperson for Clanmil Housing told News NI they “absolutely condemn this incident” and residents’ safety and wellbeing “are our priority”.
“Our team has been on site today doing all they can to support our tenants at this time, and it has been lovely to see how neighbours have also been supporting each other today,” they said.
“We are working with the PSNI and local community and political representatives to ensure this is a safe and welcoming place for everyone and we urge anyone with information on this incident to contact the PSNI.”
