Two-year-old among victims of sectarian violence on Tyrone fans

A two-year-old boy was hit in the face with a bottle and a woman squirted with petrol in a series of sectarian attacks on Tyrone fans returning home from their All-Ireland triumph.

Another boy was struck in the face with a brick, while police arrested four men in Cookstown when they moved in to keep rival crowds apart.

There was also trouble in Strabane and Dungannon where other Tyrone fans were ambushed by stone throwers.

But tonight there were scenes of jubilation as thousands of fans gathered in the town of Aughnacloy, on the Co Monaghan border, to welcome the team home from Dublin after their victory over Kerry.

The champions also stopped off in Ballygawley, home town of goalscoring hero Peter Canavan and manager Mickey Harte.

Meanwhile, police in Omagh are investigating a number of incidents in the aftermath of the team’s second All-Ireland triumph in three years.

The two-year-old was injured in the town’s Hospital Street around 9pm.

He was in a car, which was flying a Tyrone flag, with his mother and grandmother.

After the incident, a car pulled up alongside the family and warned them they would face “more of the same” if they did not take the flag down.

In a separate incident in the town three men, wearing Tyrone shirts, got out of a car and assaulted three youths shortly before 11pm.

One of them was taken to hospital and treated for suspected concussion.

The assailants escaped in a Mercedes which was driven by blonde woman.

Earlier, around 6pm, a woman carrying a Tyrone flag was squirted with petrol by a youth wielding a water pistol in Campsie.

In the same area a woman visiting the town reported that a youth wearing a Glasgow Rangers top and a balaclava jumped in front of her car and pointed a water pistol at her.

A man also reported that petrol had been squirted at his car.

Meanwhile, a boy, aged seven, needed hospital treatment after a bus carrying Tyrone fans was stoned in Co Armagh. A 12-year-old girl was treated for shock.

Police arrested four men in Cookstown when they moved in to keep rival crowds apart and there was trouble as well in Strabane and Dungannon where other Tyrone fans were ambushed by stone-throwers.

The injured boy was from Dungannon and was in a 15-seater bus when it was attacked in Edenaveys on the Newry Road.

In Cookstown a petrol bomb, fireworks and other missiles were launched at police in the William Street and Old Street areas of the town.

The PSNI also confirmed three cars were burnt out in the wake of Tyrone’s Croke Park triumph.

In a separate incident, a press photographer was attacked in Strabane as he took pictures of jubilant fans. He was not seriously injured but his camera equipment was damaged.

A police spokeswoman confirmed two men were arrested for riotous behaviour in Dungannon, while a third was taken into custody for disorderly behaviour.

A fourth man was arrested for common assault after a child was struck with a missile while sitting in a car in Perry Street.

Two cars were burnt out in the town after one was set ablaze near the Stangmore roundabout on the Moy Road.

In Cookstown, a car was set on fire in the Old Town area, while security barriers leading to the centre of the town were temporarily closed by a crowd.