County Derry mum left shaken after nine-week old baby hit in face by snowball

A County Derry mother has been left shocked and shaken after her nine week old baby was hit in the face by a snowball last night.

Gulladuff woman Aimee-Marie Turley was driving by the bus shelter in the Quarry Road area at around 5.20pm on Monday (January 5) when her car was pelted with snowballs by a group of youths.

The new mum was travelling with her baby daughter Eimear-Rose, who she said was startled by the noise.

Aimee-Marie said she immediately stopped her car to speak to the youths, who had congregated at the bus shelter.

“The roads were terrible last night so driving conditions were pretty bad,” she said. 

“I’m borrowing my mum’s car at the minute so it wasn’t even my own vehicle and as I approached the mini roundabout, they (youths) started pelting the car with the snowballs. 

“I put the window down a wee bit and said to them ‘would you stop firing snowballs at cars, you’re going to damage someone’s car and your parents will have to end up paying for it’. I told them I also had a newborn baby sitting in the passenger seat and asked them to be careful. Next thing one of them approached the car and said ‘I don’t give a f**k’ and threw the snowball in the car hitting my daughter in the face.”

Aimee-Marie said little Eimear-Rose began squealing hysterically following the attack.

“I got out of the car and said to them that they had just hit my child but they all ran off.  I drove home and told my husband and he went up to them right away but when he landed they scattered then.

“Eimear-Rose (pictured below) has been very unsettled since this happened. If you touch her wee face she moves away. She has a wee mark around her eye - it could have taken her eye out.” 

The hairdresser said she posted about the incident on her Facebook page in an effort to make parents in the area aware. 

“Since I put that post up a few people have reached out to me and said that their cars had also been pelted with snowballs in the same area,” she continued.

“It’s not the first time incidents like this have happened - fireworks have been thrown at cars from the same area by youths during Halloween. I actually got my car hit with a firework in October. I was pregnant at the time and it really scared me.

“It’s not all children from Gulladuff that is responsible, it’s outsiders coming in.”

ABOVE: THE AREA WHERE THE ATTACK TOOK PLACE LAST NIGHT.

Aimee-Marie says she has been left ‘really upset’ and ‘so shaken up’ by the incident and intends to report it to the PSNI today. 

“I don’t feel safe driving there anymore. I feel shaken and very upset,” Aimee-Marie said.

“I would just ask young people to stop throwing snowballs at vehicles. I remember when I was younger I would have gone into a field and had snowball fights with my friends and it was good fun but don’t do it to cars or people walking by. It’s uncalled for.”