Crowd stones RUC officers in Derry

Four RUC officers were injured when they came under attack in Bloomfield, Derry, from a crowd of about 75 people who pelted them…

Four RUC officers were injured when they came under attack in Bloomfield, Derry, from a crowd of about 75 people who pelted them with stones early yesterday. Police had been called to a house to assist a woman following an assault. One man was arrested.

In Larne, Co Antrim, police were attacked by 12 to 15 stone-throwing youths on Friday night after receiving reports of kerbstones being painted in the area.

In Antrim, a youth was taken from his house in the Ballycraigy estate on Friday at about 9 p.m. by three masked men carrying baseball bats. The youth received fractures to his arms and legs.

A 47-year-old man was abducted on Belfast's Shaw's Road on Friday evening and bundled into a car. He was driven to Lenadoon where he was shot in the right ankle. Police believe up to four men were involved. On Shore Road in the north of the city, two men aged 18 and 19 were forced into a car at about 6 p.m. on Friday and each of them was shot once in the left leg.

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In Ballycastle, Co Antrim, a Sinn Fein councillor has become the first member of the party to be issued with a firearms certificate. Mr James McGarry has been the target of repeated loyalist attacks. The PUP criticised the decision and said one of its members, who also feared for his security, had recently been refused a firearms certificate.

A weekend arson attack on a block of flats in Antrim was a clear attempt to murder, according to the fire service. Six people were rescued from two flats in the burning building at Rathglyn on the Stiles estate, including a six-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl. Divisional officer Mr David Blair said: "If these attacks continue, sooner or later, someone is going to die." A drugs involvement is among the lines of inquiry being pursued by the RUC.