A thug who smashed a profoundly disabled Angus teenager’s bedroom window is being hunted by police amid fears an airgun may have been used.
Horrified Arbroath mum Jill Lingard said her 13-year-old daughter, Ellie, has been left traumatised and reluctant to be at home in the wake of the incident, which the family initially thought was a stone-throwing attack.
But the precise hole has left them concerned about the “unthinkable consequences” if it was caused by a weapon.
The object shattered the outer pane of the double glazed unit on Wednesday night and Jill, 44, said she was stunned when she opened the curtains the following morning to reveal the damage.
“Ellie went to bed around 6.30 but she did wake around 11.30 and was crying, which was unusual for her,” said Jill.
“We thought it might just have been a bad dream or something, but when I opened the curtains in the morning I couldn’t believe it,” added Jill.
Jill and husband Mark’s initial thought was that someone had thrown a stone from a lane in nearby East Kirkton Road, but after posting photographs of the damage on Facebook speculation has emerged that the damage has the clear appearance of a bullet hole.
“The more we look at it, the more it looks like it might have been caused by an airgun,” added Jill.
The Lingard’s 11-month baby daughter, Dara, was in another bedroom when the incident happened.
She said Arbroath High pupil Ellie, who has complex and profound disabilities, wouldn’t come into the house after arriving home from school the following day.
“My husband and I never heard anything because we were at the front of the house, but Ellie’s really anxious about coming into the house now and we think it must have something to do with it.
“I’m really angry about this, but it could have been so much worse. I hope whoever did this thinks about that.”
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “Police Scotland is making inquiries into a report of damage to a window at an address in Arbroath that happened on Wednesday March 16. Inquiries are at an early stage.”