Second Athlone petrol bombing incident in less than a week

A house in Willow Park has suffered significant damage in the town’s second petrol bomb attack this week.

The latest incident happened at around midnight on Tuesday night when an item was thrown through the front window of a house in the Meadowbrook area. The inside of the property was extensively damaged as a result of a fire, however, it’s thought the home was not occupied at the time of the incident.

No arrests have been made in the case and garda investigations are continuing into what is now thought to be the third petrol bomb incident in Athlone in less than a fortnight. It’s unclear as of yet whether the latest petrol bomb attack is linked to a new feud which has erupted between several local families recently.

Another petrol bombing incident happened on Monday last, June 9 in the Clonbrusk area, when a device was planted at the rear of a house in the early hours of the morning. Some garden furniture was damaged as a result.

A number of members of the family are believed to have been in the home when the petrol bomb device went off. A short time later, two local youths were detained for questioning in Athlone Garda Station under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act where they can held for up to two days.

Last Wednesday’s (June 4) sitting of Athlone District Court heard that the feud between three local families has escalated through social media into a “serious situation” and was also at the root of the first petrol bombing incident in Sarsfield Square on May 27.