[ad_1]
Four firebombing attacks in Greenock have left locals in fear that a dispute between gangs and drugs will cost more lives.
One person has already died amid the avalanche of arson attacks and the latest incident targeted a family home.
One local man claims rival drug traffickers threaten each other on Facebook with taunts on social media that help fuel the intensity of the gang turf war.
Fortunately, there were no injuries in the most recent fire that occurred after a gasoline bomb was thrown against the property’s window on Cumberland Road.
(Image: Google)
A 45-year-old woman, a six-year-old boy and two other people were in the house at the time, but thankfully the property’s window was not broken and the patio furniture outside caught fire.
The fireball drama on Saturday 19 September was the fourth such attack in the space of a week in Greenock with the most serious incident that left a man dead.
And one local, who did not want to be identified, said that people in the community fear that other victims are unavoidable in the “tit-for-tat” dispute between rival hoods.
They said, “It is really increasing now. Something really bad is going to happen.
“It all has to do with drugs and different groups of people.
“Everyone is fighting on Facebook and feeding it.”
Another said that traffickers had been moving their drug operations to different locations in the area in recent weeks, saying: “You see people coming down all the time asking where they can find them. It is very widespread. “
Last week we recounted how horrible images of a man engulfed in flames appeared online in Greenock. The victim died in the incident outside a property on Union Street.
The video first showed the man moving through a garden on the street on the night of September 14.
It disappears out of range for a few seconds, before reappearing with a gas canister.
The man is then seen moving toward a house before a horrible fireball explodes seconds later.
The man falls to the ground engulfed in flames as text messages gloating at the grim scene appear in online images.
The chilling video, which the Daily Record has not released, shows that the man’s movements stop.
Sources told the Record that the property where the fire occurred is linked to a local man wanted by police.
Later, police confirmed that a 46-year-old man was found dead on Union Street around 10:35 p.m. on September 14.
(Image: Alex Craig)
Two days later, on September 16, a woman was seriously injured and required hospital treatment after an alleged firebomb attack on a home on Wellington Street at 11.05 p.m.
The 40-year-old woman was at home with a nine-year-old girl at the time of the night attack.
A small white car was seen speeding away from the scene.
Around five minutes later, witnesses reported seeing a white Suzuki Splash hatchback with registration number GK14 FZE speeding on a nearby highway before being abandoned.
Two men who were passengers, described as in their late teens and slim with gray hooded sweatshirts across their faces, got out of the car while the driver was described as wearing a black zip-up hoodie over his head and a scarf around his face.
The three took off running down Skye Street, and within hours at 2:20 am on September 17, the Suzuki, which had been stolen 24 hours earlier, was found on fire on the same road.
The car had been stolen from Denholm Terrace in the early hours of September 16.
No one was injured in the car fire.
The latest incident on Cumberland Road on September 19, in which a petrol bomb was thrown at a home window, has now sparked fears among locals that the violence will only escalate, though police have now assured the public that this ‘disgusting behavior will not be tolerated’.
Officers also believe that each of the fireball attacks could be related.
(Image: Daily log)
Detective Superintendent Gerry McBride said: “I would like to start by saying how sick we are from all of these incidents, whether linked or not. These have been targeted unprovoked attacks that have resulted in serious injury and death.
“A couple of these attacks have also taken place while children were present and it was fortunate that the number of injuries was not higher.
“We want to make it absolutely clear that this behavior will not be tolerated in our community and officers will do everything possible to find those responsible.”
DI McBride stressed that locals should not feel at risk from the incidents.
He added: “It is also important to reassure the wider community that although the investigations are still ongoing, we do not believe there is any risk to the general public.”
“There will be a greater police presence in the area while the investigations are carried out.
“Specialized units have been deployed both to carry out investigations and to address this problem and prevent further cases from occurring.”
Officers urge anyone with information, or those with dash cam footage of these areas, to contact the police.
“I would encourage anyone who has any information that might be helpful to come forward,” DI McBride said.
We are particularly interested in knowing any information about the movements of the cars mentioned: the white Suzuki Splash, stolen from Denholm Terrace in the early morning of Wednesday, September 16 and set on fire at dawn on Thursday, September 17, on Skye Street, and the small white car seen speeding away from the attack on Wellington Street around 11pm on Wednesday, September 16.
“If you have any information, or if you may have seen something or maybe you have dash cam footage or private CCTV footage from any of the incidents, please contact the police as soon as possible.”
[ad_2]
