32 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleEmmet McElhattonandDaniel Logan,BBC News NI
PA MediaSearches have been carried out at a number of premises in Waterford after four members of the same family were killed an arson attack in the city.
Kim English, Philip English and two of their children – nine-year-old Jayden and 12-year-old Callum – died after their home in Birch Avenue was set on fire on Tuesday.
Gardaí (Irish police) have described the investigation into their murders as “intense in nature and very active”.
They said “multiple searches” were conducted on Tuesday evening and a number of vehicles and electronic devices have been seized for technical examination.
Six members of the English family were sleeping when their home was attacked in the early hours of Tuesday.
It is believed that an incendiary device, likely a petrol bomb, set the house on fire.
Two children were severely injured in the blaze and were taken to a Dublin hospital where they both remain in a critical condition.
Members of the local community have been supporting their relatives and some have been sharing poignant memories of those who did not survive the fire.
Johnville FCFor the past five years, Callum played football for Johnville FC, a schoolboy and junior football club in Waterford.
His coach Alex O’Sullivan told BBC News NI that he was a “fantastic player” and a “lovely kid” both on and off the pitch.
“Great sense of humour… always happy. Helpful to his teammates and coaches. There was never any cheek coming from Callum.
“You’d often see him on the street and he’d be waving, ‘Hello coach’, and you’d get a little chat out of him, and he always had a great smile on his face.”
O’Sullivan said he first met Callum when he was playing under-11s football.
“Callum was always there. Same with matches, he loved coming to the matches.”
O’Sullivan said he also got to know the boy’s parents Phillip and Kim, from dropping Callum off to training and supporting him when he was playing.
“They were always there to show up.”
Social mediaO’Sullivan said the community and club were “devastated”.
“There has been a dark cloud over St John’s Park.
“Usually there’s always people with a smile on their face around St John’s Park. Everyone is sad today.”
In a statement on social media, Johnville FC said all its members were “absolutely heartbroken”
“It is incredibly difficult to comprehend that a family we knew so well has been taken from us in such tragic circumstances.”
The Catholic Diocese of Waterford and Lismore has confirmed that a vigil will be held at Sacred Heart Church on Wednesday evening.
In a post on social media, the diocese said the vigil will provide an opportunity for people to “come together in prayer for those who have lost their lives, their grieving families and loved ones, and all those affected by this terrible tragedy”.
Gardaí launched an investigation into the four killings on Tuesday, describing it as a “multiple murder and arson attack”.
Irish broadcaster RTÉ is reporting that detectives believe the attack is linked to organised crime and drugs-related intimidation.
It said the searches carried out in the city on Tuesday night included raids on properties of two significant criminal figures in the city.
No arrests have been made as yet.
On Wednesday, Ch Supt Anthony Pettit said: “There are people in the community who know the person or persons who carried out this arson attack in which four people have been murdered.”
He appealed for them to contact the investigation team, which is based at Waterford Garda Station.
On Tuesday morning, firefighters, ambulance staff and gardaí all responded to the emergency at the family home in the Birchwood housing estate, about 3km (1.8 miles) outside Waterford city centre.
Waterford Fire Service said it was alerted to the fire at 05:13 local time and its crews arrived to a well-developed fire at a two-storey house.
It said a number of casualties were removed from the house before the blaze was extinguished and the scene was handed over to gardaí.
On Tuesday afternoon, Ch Supt Pettit said officers believe the house “was attacked by a person or persons unknown and that the fire was started deliberately”.
He appealed to anyone who was in the vicinity of the Birchwood housing estate between 04.30 and 05.30 local time on Tuesday morning to contact gardaí.
