Improvised weapon found in playground of Belfast primary school
Police are linking the weapon, which was found by the Belfast's school principal, with dissident republican terrorists.
Tuesday 24 September 2019 16:11, UK
An improvised weapon was discovered in a playground of a Belfast primary school.
Officers have launched an investigation into the "highly stupid act", and believe the device is linked with dissident republican terrorists.
The weapon was found by the principal of Holy Cross Boys' Primary School on Monday while he was helping the caretaker clear an issue with the sewerage system.
Pupils and staff were evacuated from the premises as police moved in to secure the area.
PSNI Belfast District Commander Jonathan Roberts told a news conference that the weapon had the "potential to fire a high-calibre round" and that its presence in the school grounds endangered children's lives.
He said officers believed it was left in the school playground by dissident terrorists and was "probably destined to be used in an attempt to kill or seriously injure police officers" working in north Belfast.
The school remains closed while the security operation continues, with officers wanting to be certain there is no risk to children in the area.
Commander Roberts added: "I would like to say that this is an act of utmost recklessness and a highly stupid act, the people that have done this do not represent any kind of cause, they do not represent any section of the community.
"What they have done is endanger the lives of children."
He added that the device was left in the immediate area where the youngest children would be playing during the course of the school day.
The school's principal, Kevin McArevey, described the moment he discovered the weapon as "a scary moment".
"We had to lift a manhole cover to get the rods down and to my surprise, there was a plastic package just sitting in the sewers," he told the BBC.
"I lifted it out and imagine my surprise when I opened it up, there were wires at the top of this and tubing in it."
SDLP MLA Nichola Mallon said the discovery was "disgraceful", adding: "To create a device and then hide it in the grounds of a primary school shows how low these people will go and the complete disregard and disrespect they have for the community."