Car bomb was 'deliberate, reckless, stupid' attack, says police chief

According to Northern Ireland's police chief, a car bomb that exploded outside a police station was a "deliberate, irresponsible, and stupid attack.

On Saturday night, Jon Boutcher praised the bravery of police officers who rushed toward danger to evacuate family homes close to the Dunmurry police station.

The unit detonated when police were directing local residents to safety, including families with young children.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) suspects dissident republicans caused the explosion, which is being treated as a felony.

Boutcher was speaking at a press conference in Stormont, where the first and deputy first ministers and the Policing Board chair also condemned the attack.

We felt it was especially important today that we stood here together as a united voice,

First Minister Michelle O'Neill said.

'Terrifying ordeal'

The bomb put people's lives in jeopardy, according to her, and it

exhibited a blatant disregard for the local community. It was a

terrible ordeal

for the delivery driver who was forced to carry the bomb to its target, according to O'Neill. The man's vehicle had been hijacked at gunpoint in Twinbrook, west Belfast, shortly after 22:50 BST on Saturday. His car was later fitted with a gas cylinder unit before being ordered to carry the bomb to the station, where it exploded. Emma Little Pengelly, the deputy first minister, said she was

fully appalled by the bombing. It is vitally important that we send a strong and unequivocal condemnation of this attack this morning. The bombers were described as mindless idiots by Boutcher, who advised anyone with details to contact the PSNI

before these individuals hurt or kill someone. Brendan Mullan, the chair of the Policing Board, praised officers who came out of their station after the bomb to evacuate homes. Their bravery,

stands in stark contrast to those who coerced a delivery driver to buy a device and park it outside the police station,

he said. Boutcher praised the delivery driver's reaction as

incredibly brave

during aBBC showearlier on Monday. According to him, the man

alerted police and officers as to what had happened

which caused the evacuation of residents. The assault took place in a built-up area, near to family homes, in which many children were still in bed asleep.

Fortunately, and it's only through good fortune, Boutcher said, nobody was seriously wounded or killed. "No one has yet claimed responsibility, but we are likely to hear a plea of responsibility, and we know it will be the New IRA again.

Analysis: Reminder: security chiefs cannot be complacent

By Mark Simpson, BBC News Northern Ireland's community correspondent The recklessness of the car bomb exposes the danger faced by violent dissident republicans. Many activists and no money are involved in organisations like the New IRA, but they have deadly intentions. Last month, there was a similar attack at Dunmurry Police Station in Lurgan, but the unit did not explode. Security experts will be looking at the two attacks closely to see what it means in terms of the level of danger and the current capabilities of violent groups. In recent years, Northern Ireland's police have largely contained violent republicans, but the two attacks serve as a reminder that security chiefs are unlikely to be complacent.

The bomb sounded like 'car crashing into a wall'

The bomb sounded like a car smashing into a wall, according to one man who was forced to leave his house during the evacuation on Saturday. Joe Morgan, the father of two boys, lives about 110 yards from Dunmurry police station. When the unit detonated, his children, who were two and four years old, were asleep, and he was getting ready for bed himself.

I was just flicking off lights and winding down, and I heard a yelp,

He told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme.

I grew up at the tail end of the Troubles, so my mind didn't immediately go to an explosion.

I suspected it was possibly a car that had crashed into something in the street or my house.

A neighbor showed me a snapshot of the car on fire. Naturally, the primary concern is on the kids and getting them to safety.

Another officer began knocking on doors in his street, advising people to evacuate in the event of a secondary device. Morgan recalled,

Your brain starts going 100 miles per minute. He said he tried to remain calm when he packed some possessions, but admitted that the

Adrenaline is going a long way at this time. On Saturday night, his pregnant mother was staying at her mother's house, and he was grateful she was not home when the bomb went off. He had to wake his children, the older of whom wanted to know why they were having a sleepover at their uncle's house.

They are not really questions you're going to have to answer in 2026,

Morgan said. He also praised other people, some of whom had expressed deep concern for their elderly neighbours during the evacuation. Morgan said, "I was lucky that I had a family so I could jump in a car and get to." On Sunday evening, he returned to his house.

'Not enough support for PSNI'

When compared to peers around the United Kingdom and Ireland, Boutcher told the Nolan Show that the PSNI haven't been helped when compared with peers around Europe and Ireland

There are all kinds of reasons for that, some of which are related to the fact that we are not financed for legacy by Westminster's government, and it has been decided here to shift funds into other public services rather than policing.

When asked if the PSNI gets enough funding from Stormont's two most influential groups, Sinn Féin and the DUP, Boucher said he doesn't feel any of us are doing enough, Boucher replied. I've spoken to those political figures. Everybody, arm in hand, should be standing shoulder to shoulder, protesting in Northern Ireland in a way that I am used to elsewhere, and has that happened the way I want it to here? No, it hasn't. The bombing, according to the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, which represents rank-and-file PSNI officers, was madness. This doesn't move the needle toward any particular target, its chair, Liam Kelly, said. All it does is show that there are still people who want to murder my colleagues and bring pain and suffering to our communities.

Who are dissident republicans?

A variety of people who do not accept the Good Friday Agreement are described as "dissident republicans". The Provisional IRA, the most active republican paramilitary group behind the Troubles, declared a ceasefire in the run-up to the deal and officially ended its violent campaign in 2005. Several groups that broke away from the Provisional IRA, including the Continuity IRA and New IRA, are among dissident republicanism. Although the Provisional IRA have the groups, they do have access to high-calibre weapons and explosive equipment.