Delivery driver threatened at gunpoint in security alert

A delivery driver was threatened at gunpoint and told to drive a vehicle carrying a suspicious device to a police station in Lurgan, the police have confirmed.

Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said the hijacking took place on Monday evening in the Kilwilkie estate in the town.

The vehicle, a white Audi, was then abandoned outside Church Place in the County Armagh town, triggering a security alert.

About 100 homes are believed to have been evacuated as a result of the incident, and an initial controlled explosion has taken place.

Church Place, Church Walk and Wellington Street remain closed on Tuesday morning, police have said, and sections of Market Street, William Street and North Street are also shut.

Motorists have been asked to avoid the area.

Speaking to BBC News NI's Good Morning Ulster programme, Henderson said at about 22:30 BST on Monday, a fast food delivery driver was "forced to stop their vehicle and threatened at gunpoint" in the Deramore Drive area of the town.

The man was threatened and drove the car, carrying a device placed by the hijackers, to the police station near Church Place, where he later escaped and alerted staff to the situation.

Henderson said it was an "absolutely terrifying ordeal for the poor man who was forced to drive the car" and it was a "hugely disruptive and a distressing event" for the local community in Lurgan.

"There's been a really significant policing operation that we've been cooperating overnight to make sure the car and the contents of the car were secure and safe," he added.

Henderson said its too early to tell if the device was viable, but officers were treating it as such.

He described it as a "sinister development" that nobody in Lurgan or beyond would welcome.

Lurgan Town Hall, located a short walk away from the police station, was opened up to those who were displaced from the homes due to the alert.

Paul Henderson said police came to his home just after 01:00 BST on Tuesday morning telling him he had to evacuate due to a "bomb scare".

"I was in total shock - I had literally just fallen asleep," he told BBC News NI.

Henderson said he was one of about 50 others who spent the night in Lurgan Town Hall.

He said there was a family with a young child in the hall when he arrived, and added it was "very frightening" to get a knock on the door at that time.

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Carla Lockhart told Good Morning Ulster those behind the alert knew it would cause "maximum disruption" and that it has caused "utter mayhem".

"Obviously it's grim that when we think in 2026 that this is the type of activity that some people want to try and engage in," she said.

"My thoughts are very much with the individual whose vehicle was hijacked."

Lockhart added those responsible want to bring Lurgan back to its "former days", but that is not want local people want.

"Lurgan has moved on and sadly there's a small nucleus of people who want to agitate and drag it back," she said.

"It's not what people are at, it's not what people want – what people want is to be a society."

The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader Jon Burrows said the attack "bears all the hallmarks of a terrorist attack, probably carried out by dissident republicans".

He described it as a "reckless attack", which could have potentially endangered local people and officers.

Many of those evacuated would have included families with young children, those with disabilities and elderly people, Burrows added, and that many officers are "risking their lives" to protect the public.

"I think it's a reminder that while they've been heavily infiltrated and dismantled, there still remains lethal intent and capability of dissident republicans," he said.

Upper Bann assembly member (MLA) John O'Dowd said the people behind the incident "represent no one but themselves, and stand isolated from the community".

"Progress will not be stymied by these people, Lurgan will continue to move forward.

"I want to once again thank all those who helped and offered shelter to those families who were out of their homes as a result of this alert."

The Sinn Féin minister also offered his solidarity to the delivery driver who went through a "terrifying experience".

Justice Minister Naomi Long said it is a "shameful and dangerous attack" which has put lives at risk.

"There is absolutely no place for this utterly reckless and abhorrent behaviour," the Alliance party leader said.

"I would like to commend the police officers who responded quickly and professionally to this incident and my thoughts are also with all those who have been caught up by this despicable attack."