A viable bomb was just sent to a Londonderry hotel during its biggest Halloween festival

A viable explosive device has just been found inside a package sent to a hotel in Londonderry.

And it landed right next to Europe's biggest Halloween festival, organisers say, while families and kids were out at the fun fair.

So here's what happened. Police got the call at around 3.20pm, about 17 hours ago. A package had arrived at a hotel in Ebrington Square, in the Waterside area of the city.

Officers moved fast. They evacuated the hotel and a number of homes and businesses nearby.

And remember, this wasn't some quiet corner of town. A Halloween fun fair was running close by, right when the alert went up.

Army Ammunition Technical Officers were sent in. They examined the package. Then they carried out a controlled explosion on it.

Police say the device was viable. That means it could have worked.

The operation ran for hours. It finally ended shortly before midnight, so eight to nine hours ago now. What's left of the package has gone for forensic testing. An investigation is now under way.

So who's speaking on this? Gillian Kearney. She's the PSNI Chief Superintendent and Area Commander for Derry City and Strabane.

She says quote "reckless and targeted attack". Police say it caused significant disruption and distress to the local community.

That's the police calling this deliberate. Not an accident. Not a hoax gone wrong.

Naomi Long is Stormont's Justice Minister. She called it shameful.

She says quote "placed in the vicinity of families and young people celebrating Halloween".

That's a government minister saying whoever did this knew exactly who was nearby.

Julie Middleton, the DUP's Foyle MLA, called it deeply disturbing.

Now, here's why the timing matters so much. Derry is hosting what organisers call Europe's largest Halloween festival this week. Tens of thousands of people travel in for it every year.

And the hotel that got the package sits right by the fun fair. You could barely pick a more central target in the whole city.

So who did this? Nobody knows yet. No suspect has been named. Nobody has been charged.

Police haven't said who they think is behind it. They haven't linked it to any paramilitary group or anyone else operating in the area.

And what was actually inside the device? That has not been made public. How advanced it was? Also not made public.

The security alert in Ebrington Square has now ended, and the area has reopened to the public.

This isn't the first bomb scare Northern Ireland has had around a big public event. And police treated this one as deliberate from the very start, not as a hoax.

The forensic work may tell investigators more about who built the device, and why they sent it to that address.

For now, the questions sit with the police, not with the public.

Kearney's own words carry the weight of it. A targeted attack. In a city packed with families. During its biggest week of the year.

No suspect has been named or charged, and nothing here has been proven against anyone.

The investigation goes on.