The bomb attack on a young Catholic police officer, who graduated with the first batch of Police Service of Northern Ireland recruits in April, has prompted widespread condemnation and revulsion.
The 21-year-old officer escaped injury when only the detonator attached to a booby trap bomb exploded under his car in Dunclug Park in Ballymena, Co Antrim, yesterday afternoon. He was the first PSNI recruit to be directly targeted since the creation of the service last October.
Security and local sources said had the bomb fully exploded, it was likely the officer would have been killed. The detonator exploded as the officer was getting into his car. He and his parents, who were close by in their home, were treated for shock yesterday.
The finger of suspicion was falling on republican dissidents last night. They too were blamed for an explosion in April at the perimeter fence of the police training college in Garnerville in east Belfast.
Chief Supt Roly Laird, head of the college, told The Irish Times that the officer had just completed his firearms, public order and driving training and under a supervisor was to begin work at his first station on Monday.
Ballymena Chief Supt Bob Foster said he was in no doubt the intention was to murder the officer.
Their motivation was in stark contrast to the young recruit who wanted to improve the quality of life for all of the people in Northern Ireland, he added.
Mr Declan O'Loan, a local SDLP councillor, said he was in no doubt the plan was to murder the officer. "He is very lucky to be alive.
"We are all very, very shocked by this incident. It brought us back to the type of scene we thought we had left behind. There is no doubt that the attack was carried out because the young lad was a Catholic recently graduated police officer," he added.
"All people of goodwill want to see the policing service succeed. It must reinforce our resolve to ensure that there is whole community support for the new policing endeavour," Mr O'Loan said.
Ulster Unionist junior minister Mr James Leslie said the attack raised serious security concerns and must be universally condemned. "It was a clear attempt to attack a Catholic police officer," he said.
Mr Ian Paisley junior, DUP Assembly member for the area, said the attack was "thoroughly despicable". He also blamed republican paramilitaries for the murder attempt.
"I've been told that this is likely to have been a republican device and if that is the case, the political ramifications of this are absolutely massive," Mr Paisley added.
