20/11/2007
Thugs Target Priests
Two priests have been robbed at knifepoint at a parochial house in Cookstown, Co Tyrone and another targeted in west Belfast.
Father Garrett Campbell and Father Liam McKinney were confronted by the robbers - who are both believed to be aged in their early twenties - at around 2am on Monday morning.
They ransacked downstairs and woke one of the curates, threatening him with a knife before taking cash and a car.
Father Liam McKinney was sleeping when the thieves woke him.
"My bedroom door burst open. There were two young men in their early 20s. They demanded money, a knife was produced and I was led down to the other priest's bedroom," he said.
"In many ways, you are trying to watch the knife. You don't know what is going through your mind. It is a mixture of fear and adrenaline. It was an experience that I hope never to have to repeat."
The thieves took £400 and one of the men's cars before one of the priests managed to break away from the robbers and raise the alarm.
Meanwhile, in west Belfast, a priest was returning to St John's Presbytery at the weekend, when the thieves took money from a charity collection.
In September, another priest was assaulted during a burglary at a parochial house in County Down.
(BMcC)
Father Garrett Campbell and Father Liam McKinney were confronted by the robbers - who are both believed to be aged in their early twenties - at around 2am on Monday morning.
They ransacked downstairs and woke one of the curates, threatening him with a knife before taking cash and a car.
Father Liam McKinney was sleeping when the thieves woke him.
"My bedroom door burst open. There were two young men in their early 20s. They demanded money, a knife was produced and I was led down to the other priest's bedroom," he said.
"In many ways, you are trying to watch the knife. You don't know what is going through your mind. It is a mixture of fear and adrenaline. It was an experience that I hope never to have to repeat."
The thieves took £400 and one of the men's cars before one of the priests managed to break away from the robbers and raise the alarm.
Meanwhile, in west Belfast, a priest was returning to St John's Presbytery at the weekend, when the thieves took money from a charity collection.
In September, another priest was assaulted during a burglary at a parochial house in County Down.
(BMcC)
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