THE north Belfast cross-community centre targeted in a bomb hoax last week has said the "dastardly deed" left many in the local community traumatised.
Staff at the Houben Centre on the Crumlin Road said the alert last Friday, sparked when a van was hijacked in the Shankill area and the driver forced to take a hoax device to the venue, will "cast a long shadow" in the area.
The centre had been hosting an event organised by the John and Pat Hume Foundation, at which the Republic's foreign affairs minister Simon Coveney was a guest speaker.
The condemnation of the attack comes as police were granted another 36 hours to question a 40-year-old man arrested in connection with the incident last Sunday.
The man, who was detained under the Terrorism Act, remained in the PSNI's Musgrave Serious Crime Suit last night.
A 38-year-old woman arrested on Saturday in connection with the incident has been released on bail pending further enquiries. She was detained on suspicion of charges including possession of a firearm in suspicious circumstances.
The manager of the Houben Centre, Father Aidan O'Kane, highlighted how a family was forced to abandon a funeral held in the nearby Holy Cross Church as the alert forced an exclusion zone to come into effect around the venue.
"The dastardly deed of the perpetrators left many traumatised," he said.
"Sarah McDonald and her family were robbed of the respect and dignity of a funeral for their beloved mother and grandmother."
Speaking of others directly impacted, he added: "A man trying to eke out a new career after Covid, his van hijacked and deprived of his livelihood, conflicted and confused, ended up in hospital, and a generation of young people, including a reporter, were left confounded having experienced for the first time the fear and trepidation which has been absent for nigh a quarter of a century."
Fr O'Kane said despite the fear caused by the hoax, it has "served to strengthen our resolve to build upon the work of the Houben Centre in fostering peace and community relationships".
He added: "The deed of the few on Friday and the aftermath accorded confirmation of the good work in which the Houben Centre has been involved, and affirmed that such work in building good neighbourly relationships is vital to a harmonious and thriving community."
Meanwhile, police have issued an appeal for information on the movements of a white Vauxhall Vivaro van with registration XJZ 7908 in Sydney Street West and at Holy Cross Church last Friday, and have urged people to contact them by phoning 101.
A PSNI spokesperson said they wanted to hear from "anyone who witnessed that white van being followed by a grey coloured Skoda Superb on Friday morning".
