Memorial to Sean Graham bookmakers shooting attacked twice in five weeks

Summarised from 2 outlets · 3 reports · Updated 16 Oct, 10:32 · Archive

A memorial to five people killed by loyalist paramilitaries in the 1992 Sean Graham bookmakers shooting has been vandalised for the second time in five weeks.

A memorial to five people killed by the UDA in the Sean Graham bookmakers shooting on the Ormeau Road in Belfast has been vandalised for the second time in five weeks. The most recent attack occurred on 15 October when a man on a bicycle spray-painted the memorial plaque at around 4am, causing considerable damage. Police are investigating a potential link between this incident and an earlier attack in September.

Superintendent Finola Dornan said the incident is being treated as a sectarian motivated offence. She said: "These incidents have understandably caused real hurt and distress to bereaved families and the wider local community. We are treating this matter very seriously and a robust investigation is underway." Police have appealed for witnesses.

Local Sinn Féin MLA Deirdre Hargey condemned the attack, saying the families and community are outraged. She stated that the repeated vandalism is "personal, with the faces of those murdered directly attacked and defaced". She noted the attacks come at a time when an application to march on Ormeau Road by the Apprentice Boys of Derry has been lodged. The attack has been reported to police as a suspected hate crime.

How it is being reported

• Sean Graham Bookmakers massacre: PSNI probe attack on memorial to five people murdered by UDAPolice are appealing for information after an attack on a memorial to five people murdered by the UDA on the Ormeau Road.News Letter · 16 Oct, 10:08
• PSNI investigating potential link between two attacks on Sean Graham bookmakers memorial“These incidents have understandably caused real hurt and distress to bereaved families and the wider local community"Belfast Live · 15 Oct, 19:28
• Attack on Ormeau Road Sean Graham bookmakers memorial condemnedIt is the second attack on the memorial in five weeks.Belfast Live · 15 Oct, 13:23

In this story: Sean Graham Bookmakers · Ormeau Road · UDA · Deirdre Hargey · PSNI · Sinn Féin · Apprentice Boys of Derry · Belfast

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem