Girl, 8, injured in third gun attack on same family in two years
It was the third gun attack on the family within two years. In one previous attack, shots were fired into a 4x4 outside the house at the Knather, 3km from Ballyshannon, Co Donegal.
Another house owned by a member of the same family in a rural area on the other side of the town was hit by gunfire last year. Nobody was injured in either of those attacks.
In the latest outrage, the youngster received a flesh wound when a stream of bullets was fired into the rear of her grandparents’ house on the Knather as they were getting her ready for bed.
One bullet, fired from a forest behind the house, passed right through it before striking the front door. Two bedrooms were riddled with bullets.
Neighbours said it sounded like a machine gun was used in the attack on Friday night shortly before 10pm. Garda ballistics experts have established it was not a machine gun but a high-velocity weapon capable of discharging several bullets in rapid succession.
Gardaí, who were maintaining an open mind on the reasons for the attack, were tight-lipped over details at the weekend, fearing escalation of a suspected feud involving one member of the family and republican dissidents. Nobody has been arrested.
The girl’s grandparents are retired business people in their 50s. Their son, the girl’s father, was not in the house at the time of the attack.
The child was rushed by ambulance to Sligo General Hospital and was still there last night.
Her condition was said to be “stable”.
One investigator said: “The girl could have been killed. Her grandparents could also have been killed. Luckily for them they escaped physically unhurt but they are still very disturbed by the experience.”
The girl, whose parents are separated, was on a visit from Dublin with her father.
One neighbour said: “This was a deliberate murder attempt carried out by somebody who was a professional.”
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