Strabane youths urged to ‘wise up’ after pellet gun attack

A COMMUNITY worker for the Ballycolman area has pleaded with young people to ‘wise up’ following an incident where a contractor was fired at with a pellet gun, being struck in the head and back, while working on the estate.

Ivan Barr of Melmount Community Forum spoke out as news emerged that a Department of infrastructure (DfI) contractor, sent out to repair a broken streetlight was attacked.

Mr Barr said, “I received a message about a contractor, working on a streetlight in Ballycolman, was attacked by a gang of youths wielding a pellet gun around 4:30pm on February 1.

“Naturally, I was greatly concerned, and contacted a member of the PCSP who, in turn, made the PSNI aware of the incident.

“The man was forced to flee the scene while the streetlight remained unrepaired until the following day.

“This behaviour is absolutely unacceptable.

“Any contractor in the Ballycolman doing work for the local community must be left to do so un-hindered from this type of attack.

“The work that is being carried out here is being done for the good of the community. The man was working at a height which, if you’re having pellets fired at your head, has its own consequences. Thankfully he wasn’t hurt but just imagine had one of those pellets entered his eye, or he fell from the ladder – it doesn’t bear thinking about to be honest”

He continued, “I must call on young people to show a bit of wisdom when it comes to their behaviour, which might be a joke to some but has a huge impact.” on society. Ballycolman is in general a peaceful area and this kind of activity is not welcome.

”I would also call for parents to ensure their children are not armed with such weapons.

“It might seem like a toy but it isn’t and, should someone mistake it for a real gun, there’s potential for much more serious repercussions.”

Mr Barr also stated that he received further reports of the same youths shooting the windows of local residents.

Following the attack a spokesperson for the Department for Infrastructure said, “All our staff and contractors deserve to feel safe doing their job and should not be subjected to attacks, either physical or verbal.

“Thankfully no injuries were sustained on this occasion, and the repairs were safely completed the following day.”