POLICE in West Belfast say they have no one definitive motive for an arson attack on a house in Dermott Hill Parade.
The property was set on fire at around 1.57am on Thursday morning. Police believe the arson attack may be linked to an instance of criminal damage just days earlier.
George and Geraldine Richmond were forced to pack up and leave their family home of 30 years after it was attacked in the early hours of New Year’s Day with every downstairs window and door smashed.
On December 20, a man dressed in a Santa costume fired several shots through the front window of the house.
George and Geraldine’s daughter, Georgina, who reached the final stages of RTE’s the Voice of Ireland competition, also had her Upper Springfield Road home attacked on New Year’s Day with a number of shots fired through the window of the third-floor apartment.
PSNI Chief Superintendent Jonathan Roberts said: “Detectives are currently following a number of lines of enquiry after an overnight fire at a house in the Dermott Hill Parade area of west Belfast. (Thursday 3 January)
“However, we have no one definitive motive for this arson attack and I would urge anyone with information about the attack to contact police with any information that could help the investigation and put an end to the fear and distress being caused.
“Everyone has a right to live in a safe and stable community and this type of senseless and reckless criminality will not be tolerated. I want to reassure the people of west Belfast that we are taking what happened last night very seriously – as well as a number of other incidents in recent weeks which we believe are related.
“If you saw any suspicious activity in the Dermott Hill Parade area in the early hours of this morning, please get in touch with detectives on 101, quoting reference number 97 of 3/1/19.”
Alternatively, information can also be provided to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 which is 100% anonymous and gives people the power to speak up and stop crime.
