The victim was found lying behind the counter with a display unit on top of him. The back of the building was ablaze and the rest of the shop filled with dense smoke. The shopkeeper was taken to Altnagelvin hospital, where he was detained and treated for smoke inhalation and bruising. Initial RUC statements concerning the attack cited robbery as the motive but nothing is believed to have been taken from the premises by the gang. Tullyalley is a predominantly loyalist estate.
Local sources believe that the motive behind the attack was sectarian.