Derry is a warm and welcoming city, one of the first places in the North to successfully negotiate a solution to parading disputes, it set an example that many aspired to follow.
The events of the last week, with attacks on the small Protestant enclave of the Fountain estate, have been rightly condemned by a broad political cross section.
What started as anti-social behaviour by young people, with school holidays and warm summer nights bringing them on the streets, has turned into something much more sinister.
Teenagers, who were undoubtedly responsible for much of the stone throwing, were not responsible for firing shots at the PSNI on Wednesday.
An automatic weapon was used in the incident during which six shots were fired. The shots struck the city's walls and nearby trees, but inanimate objects were clearly not the intended target.
The anti-social behaviour has now been hijacked by older, more sinister elements, those who would exploit the cover of very young teenagers, to push what is ultimately a political agenda.
While no one group has as yet claimed responsibility for the shooting, the New IRA and at least one republican vigilante group with access to weapons, have a presence in the city.
Ironically those who shout loudest about mainstream politicians 'demonising' the teenage population by calling for police action against rioters, would be the first to defend the maiming of young people in paramilitary style attacks.
Using the city's young people as cannon fodder, leaving them vulnerable to possible injury and/or imprisonment that will blight their future employment and travel opportunities, is ultimately immoral.
Moving those same young people away from the interface, standing firm against sectarianism an attacks on homes of young families and the elderly, would be a much more productive use of their time.
Rather than exploiting tensions, restoring calm in the beautiful city of Derry, healing hurt and ending the sectarianism of the last week would be a much more powerful message to send.
