Police Officers Injured After Their Vehicle Was Rammed in Newry

Two police officers were injured in Newry on Friday night 24 January, when their vehicle was rammed in the forecourt of a garage on the Belfast Road with the vehicle found in Bessbrook. It was the first of two ramming incidents happening within a few hours of each other, with another incident in Bessbrook around 2.30am Saturday.

Councillor Declan Murphy expressed his best wishes to the injured officers and said that more resources are needed to close down a gang that is involved in serious criminal activity in the Bessbrook area.

Cllr Murphy said “More resources are needed to close down this gang which for many years have been involved in serious criminal activity. The community must also do everything in its power to expose these criminals. There should be no hiding place for them.

Commenting on the Newry incident Inspector Alastair MacDonald said: “Police were alerted to a suspected stolen vehicle parked in the forecourt of a garage in the Belfast Road area around 11.20pm.

"Two call signs attended, and when officers attempted to speak with the occupants, the driver accelerated and collided with one of the vehicles, causing extensive damage and injuries to the two officers inside. The suspected stolen car, a blue Mazda Demio, was later located in the Bessbrook area."

Inspector MacDonald added “This vehicle was, in effect, used as a weapon against our officers. It is unacceptable that those working to keep their community safe should be targeted in this way. We’re thankful that our colleagues don’t appear, at this stage, to have suffered significant injury, but the outcome could have been much worse.

"The police vehicle sustained such significant damage that it had to be recovered from the scene and will now be off the road for repairs, which impacts on the local community."

Police are appealing for anyone that has information on this incident, including dashcam or other footage to call 101, quoting reference 2932 of 24/1/25.

In a separate incident, a second police vehicle was rammed by a silver van in the Dobsons Way area of Bessbrook just after 2.30am on Saturday. Inspector MacDonald added: "Thankfully, there are no reports of any injuries, or any serious damage to the police vehicle."

Anyone with information that could assist on the Bessbrook incident is asked to contact 101, quoting reference 142 of 25/1/25.

You can also submit a report on either incident online using the Police non-emergency reporting form via www.psni.police.uk