Attacks on houses in Bangor branded 'utter madness'
An incident in which petrol was poured through the front doors of three houses in Bangor has been described as "utter madness".
Suspected bullet holes have been found in the living room window of a fourth house in the County Down city.
Local MLA Alex Easton, who recently lost both his parents in a house fire, said the criminal actions could have led to someone being killed.
The incidents occurred in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Detective Sergeant Bell said: "Shortly after 12:20am, it was reported that petrol had been poured through the letterbox of a house at Fort Avenue.
"An individual said to have been wearing gloves, and their hood up and face covered, was subsequently seen leaving the area on foot.
"A short time later, shortly before 12:40am, a second report was received of petrol being poured through the letterbox of a property in the Fort Drive area.
"A third report was also received shortly after 3.30am of petrol being poured through the letterbox of another house in the Fort Avenue area."
He continued: "We are also investigating a report of suspected bullet holes being discovered in the living room window of a property at Fort Terrace shortly before 12:55am.
"Further damage was located inside an interior wall inside the house.
"A man, described as being around 6ft in height, 30 to 40 years old, and of a muscular build, was reported to have been seen in the area at the time.
"He was described as wearing dark coloured clothing, including loose fitting bottoms, a tight top, and he had his hood up.
"Our inquiries are continuing, and at this stage, we are investigating a link between these incidents.
"We would appeal to anyone who witnessed anything suspicious in the area at the time, or anyone with any information which may assist us, to contact detectives on 101, quoting reference number 15 of 16/02/23."
Mr Easton said: "I have spoken with the PSNI and this is utter utter madness, for some absolute idiot to have poured petrol through peoples' letterboxes is just pure evil and wrong and no matter whatever the reasons it is just not acceptable behaviour.
"Having seen what fire can do recently with the loss of my own parents, it horrifies me that someone could do such an evil act that could have killed four families and destroyed people's homes.
"I would call on anyone with information to come forward to the PSNI so the evil thug and individual involved can be caught, and brought before the courts before they kill someone with their reckless actions."
SDLP North Down representative Deirdre Vaughan said: "People in our communities just want to live in peace and I would ask those behind these incidents to stop immediately.
"Anyone with information about what happened should come forward to police and help them with their investigation."