At least 3 shots fired at Lithuanian house in Northern Ireland - ambassador

  • 2016-09-06
  • BNS/TBT Staff

VILNIUS - More details have been released about the attack against Lithuanians living in Northern Ireland — local police have notified Lithuanian diplomats that unidentified individuals fired at least three shots at the house in Lurgan early Monday morning.

The police believe that four Lithuanians living in the house could have been the target.

"It all happened at 2 a.m.; they drove up to the house where the four Lithuanians live, fired at least three shots and drove off. The police are investigating the crime. Their version is that this could be a hate crime," Asta Skaisgiryte, Lithuania's ambassador to the United Kingdom, told BNS in a telephone interview today.

According to Skaisgiryte, Lithuania's honorary consul William Harper Sinnerton is working at the scene.

The targeted Lithuanians told the local press that they had moved to Northern Ireland eight months earlier, noting they were shaken but had no plans to leave. Their identities have not been disclosed.

Earlier on Tuesday, Lithuania's Foreign Ministry voiced worry over the incident and requested an investigation into the attack.

"We hope that the incident will be investigated and the guilty persons will be punished. Possible demonstrations of hatred must be fought in a principled manner to prevent xenophobia from ousting hospitality and tolerance," the ministry said in a press release.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Lithuanian Embassy say that they are in touch with relevant institutions of the United Kingdom, adding they were collecting details about the incident.

The shots were fired at doors and windows of the house, local television ITV said. Residents of the house include a Lithuanian female, age 19, and three young men.

Lithuanian officials had previously drawn the attention of British authorities to a higher frequency of hostility against Lithuanian citizens.

Skaisgiryte says that at present the embassy knows of at least 10 hate crimes against Lithuanians.