'We just want peace' - pleads young Derry family after sectarian attack on their home

Chloe Rutherford (28), her partner Darian Moore (33) and their three young children, one of whom is receiving palliative care, said they were shocked that in 2026 they could still be subjected to intimidation driven by sectarianism.

Paint and items, including a brick, were thrown at the young family’s house in the Ebrington area on Monday night, causing damage to a door and a window. Windows of a car were also smashed in the incident, which was reported to police at 7.45pm.

Darian Moore, who comes from a Catholic background said: “It's all down to being a Catholic in a Protestant area. We are actually in a mixed relationship, and we’ve been living there for four years, this is the first bit of bother we’ve had.

“I thought we were past these days. We’re in 2026 now, and we are still being intimidated for being Catholic in a Protestant area.”

He added: “It’s a small minority. There are decent people out there as well, it’s just that small minority that ruins it for everybody.”

It all began on Sunday, he explained, when sectarian threats were directed at him. The family’s home was then attacked on Monday night.

“I heard a big bang at the front and the two eldest children were playing around the hall and came screaming,” he said.

“At that stage my main concern was making sure the children were alright, because they came screaming and I knew myself that they were terrified.”

The family said this was their greatest fear. Darian explained that he couldn’t sleep on Sunday night, getting up repeatedly to look out the front window because he was worried for his children, who sleep at the front of the house.

Chloe said she was angry about what had happened.

“I wasn't angry at the fact the window went in or angry at the fact the car was done — I was angry at the fact that my three children were in the house. They are just cowards,” said Chloe.

The couple have been together for seven years, and Chloe said she was shocked by the sectarian attack.

She added: “I lived in Top of the Hill before and didn't have a day's bother. Why, in this day and age, in 2026, are we still dealing with sectarianism? We are dealing with sectarianism from children who have no idea what it is like to live in the past, like the Troubles.

“They don’t even know why they are being sectarian, it's to do with their upbringing and what they have been told.

The couple said they don’t know how they will explain to their young children why they had to flee their home.

“You can’t justify what they have done. The bangs could traumatise the children. The eldest boy was already asking why the police were there,” said Darian.

Speaking directly to those responsible, Chloe said: “You are a coward, to carry out an attack behind covered faces, behind dark clothing.”

“It’s 2026, get over it. We just want peace,” her partner added.