Neighbours of the family whose three young sons were killed in a petrol-bomb attack on their home in Ballymoney, Co Antrim, early yesterday, have expressed horror at the incident.The RUC is treating the deaths as murder. Richard Quinn (10), Mark (9), and Jason (7), all died in the blaze. Detectives believe the motive for the attack was sectarian. It is understood the family was targeted because the mother is a Catholic.The boys attended a Protestant school and their mother's partner is a Protestant. They lived in the predominantly loyalist Carnany Estate.Local people said sectarian tension had been rising in the area since the start of the Drumcree stand-off. Some Catholic families had received bullets in the post.The three boys will be buried after Requiem Mass in the Church of Our Lady and St Patrick in the town tomorrow.The parish priest, Father Peter Forde, who visited the parents yesterday said they were still in a state of severe shock.Neighbours said the attack had stunned the whole community."I never thought anything as appalling as this would take place in Ballymoney," said one. "We are all very sad and very angry. The people who did this do not represent us."Another woman said: "This is so, so awful. To harm children is beyond belief. I don't know what those responsible were thinking about. How could anyone do that to other human beings, let alone defenceless children?"Political and church leaders arrived in the estate throughout the day to offer their condolences.Neighbours reported hearing a loud bang moments before the Quinn's home was engulfed in flames. A petrol bomb was thrown into the house in Carnany Park around 4.30 a.m. The blaze started in the back sitting-room but quickly spread. Fire crews arrived minutes after the alarm was raised but the local brigade commander, Mr David Blair, said the first and ground floors were already well alight.Fire fighters with breathing apparatus entered the house but were met with ferocious flames on the staircase. They managed to beat their way upstairs to the first-floor bedrooms where the children had been sleeping. However, it is understood that by this stage the boys were already dead.Their mother Christine Quinn (29) and her partner Raymond Craig (31), both escaped from the house. Ms Quinn was treated for shock and minor injuries at the Route Hospital in Ballymoney.Mr Craig sustained cuts when he jumped out a bedroom window to escape. A family friend, Christina Archibald (18), who had been staying at the house, was treated for minor injuries.
Two fire fighters suffered burns.Only one of the family's children was not in the house at the time of the attack. Lee Quinn, the eldest boy, was staying with his grandmother in Rasharkin, Co Antrim, a few miles away.The couple were last night said to be still finding it difficult to believe what had happened. Ms Quinn was staying with her mother in Rasharkin. Their house in Carnany Park was still sealed off.The Quinn family, who have lived in the estate for 20 years, had been targeted by loyalists before.The boys' home had been attacked by a group of men and it is understood they left the North and only returned last year when they thought it was safe.Relatives said they had suffered intimidation since and had been awaiting a housing transfer. They had previously moved to different parts of the estate but had not managed to escape the intimidation.It is understood that on one occasion Mr Craig was shot by loyalists.The children's grandmother, Mrs Irene Quinn, was ordered to leave the estate last week and her home was petrol bombed. The children's grand uncle, Mr Robert Patton, is a former member of the Orange Order.He said those responsible were not members of the Order: "This is nothing to do with the Orangemen. It's just hooliganism." He said his niece had decided to give the children a Catholic burial, even though they had been brought up Protestant."You couldn't expect her to do anything else after something like this," he said.RUC chief inspector, Mr Terry Shevlin, said: "We are treating this as a brutal murder of three young boys in a sectarian arson attack. It is a sickening and brutal murder."