Graffiti and posters in Newtownabbey initially being treated as hate incidents
Police in Northern Ireland are investigating graffiti in an area just north of Belfast which appeared to threaten employees of the devolved administration’s Housing Executive.
An image supplied by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive shows the line “all N.I.H.E staff are targets” painted on the wall of a building.
A Housing Executive spokesperson said: “We strongly condemn the threatening graffiti directed at our staff and painted on our office and in the surrounding neighbourhood.
“Any threat against our teams and our contractors is completely unacceptable and no one should be subjected to intimidation while carrying out their public service duties. The safety and wellbeing of our staff is our absolute priority”.
“We would appeal to everyone to respect the role our teams and our contractors carry out in supporting local communities and to allow them to do their work free from threat, intimidation or fear.”
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said it had received a report of posters erected on a number of lamp-posts in Newtownabbey on 31 May, as well as graffiti on a number of buildings in the area.
“Enquiries are ongoing into each of these reports to establish if a crime has occurred,” it said, adding that the reports were “initially being treated as hate incidents”.
It urged anyone with information to contact police on 101, quoting reference number 838 31/05/26 or report in confidence through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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