GARDAÍ HAVE appealed for the public’s help following an attack on an estate agents’ premises in Roscommon town on Sunday morning.
An explosive device was thrown through the window of John Earley’s Property Partners at Stone Court some time around 6.30am.
Roscommon Garda station received an anonymous call at 7am tipping them off about an incident at the premises on the town square. Gardaí found a broken window and debris, and were treating the matter as one of criminal damage until they received a second anonymous call at midday telling them two pipe bombs had been thrown through the window.
The Army bomb disposal unit attended the scene and the area was sealed off.
A second device was not found by investigators, but the Army bomb disposal unit found that the first device was viable.
When the device exploded, it discharged shrapnel, which was found embedded in walls and other surfaces in the room.
Nobody was injured in the incident, but Supt Paul Glynn of Roscommon Garda station said it was a very serious event.
He said it would have been “lethal” if a fire had started as there were apartments upstairs.
“Obviously, a fire could have started because there was an explosive device. It was very serious and it’s been treated extremely seriously by the gardaí.”
He appealed to anyone who was in the area between 6am and 7am on Sunday and may have seen anything to contact Roscommon Garda station at 0906-638300.
Gardaí are also working with telecommunications engineers in a bid to trace the location of the anonymous phone-caller.
A Garda spokesman said there had been no arrests yet, but the investigation was ongoing.
It was business as usual at the the estate agents yesterday.
