Several homes across Belfast have been set on fire and a bus lit ablaze in protests following a knife attack in the city.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) appealed for calm as it said “sporadic pockets of disorder” had broken out in multiple locations across Northern Ireland on Tuesday.
The planned protests come as a 30-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder in relation to a knife attack in the city on Monday. He is due to appear in court on Wednesday.
In a statement on Tuesday evening, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said detectives investigating the knife attack in the Kinnaird Avenue area had arrested the man with attempted murder, possession of an article with blade or point in a public place and threats to kill.
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The force said some vehicles had been set on fire on Tuesday night as hundreds of protesters gathered on the Newtownards Road in east Belfast, where a bus was hijacked and set alight.
Residents of several homes set alight have been evacuated, including on Lendrick Street and near the Crumlin Road. Emergency services were on the scene.
Masked men threatened photographers and escorted a Sky camera crew away from the activity. Children were also at the scene.
Freshly painted graffiti, saying “f**k Islam” was daubed on bus shelters and walls on the busy road. Police kept a distance while a fire crew and ambulance personnel remained close by.
Unionist MLA Doug Beattie said a police car had been set on fire in Portadown, with videos of the fire circulating on social media.
“We are urging everyone to remain calm, act responsibly, and avoid any activity that could place themselves or others at risk,” said Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson.
“We are again appealing for calm and ask all voices of influence within local communities to encourage peaceful protest and discourage any involvement in violence or disorder.”
In another part of the city, a large crowd had gathered on a residential street, with some of the crowd attacking a property while others looked on. Police vehicles arrived shortly after.
Burning barricades on Clifton Street in north Belfast blocked the Carlisle Circus roundabout where hundreds of protesters had gathered earlier.
A woman standing beside a burning barricade in the loyalist Tiger’s Bay area pointed to group of masked youths protesting.
“They’re Catholic and Protestants coming together to protest. They’re united on this.”
Beside the barricade, a sign was placed which read: “Women and Children not safe in this area.”
Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill described the vandalism of homes in Belfast as “outright thuggery”.
“Groups of masked men burning families out of their homes is nothing less than disgusting cowardice,” she said.
Northern Ireland Minister for Justice Naomi Long said on Tuesday night that some had ignored the appeals for calm.
“They are intent on wreaking destruction on the very communities they claim they are trying to protect,” she said.
“They are weaponising the genuine hurt, concern and anger that people are feeling for their own misguided purposes. There is no place for masked thugs to take to the streets and threaten, intimidate, disrupt and cause wanton damage – it is simply disingenuous to claim this is being carried out for the good of Northern Ireland.”
The accused man, who police believe to be Sudanese, was in custody on Tuesday after the attack in the north of the city at 10.30pm on Monday.
Graphic video footage circulating online shows a number of people, including one wielding a hurl, confronting the attacker before police officers arrived.
The victim, a man in his 40s, sustained significant injuries to his face, neck and back. He remained in hospital in a serious condition.
At a PSNI press conference in Belfast on Tuesday, Henderson said the victim had suffered significant injuries to his eyes and serious slash wounds to his back and face.
He confirmed the alleged attacker had leave to remain in the UK having travelled to Northern Ireland from Dublin.
There was no indication the attack was terror-related and a weapon, believed to be a kitchen knife, was recovered from the scene.
Henderson pleaded for “calm heads” ahead of expected protests on Tuesday night.
An increased police presence has been planned across the North in the coming days while the PSNI has received offers of assistance from other police forces in the UK, he added. He appealed to people to ensure the demonstrations remained peaceful.
“I share the public’s revulsion over the brutal nature of this attack, which has created concern, not only here in Northern Ireland, but much further afield,” Henderson said.
“At this stage, we have no information to suggest that this was a terrorist related incident. However, I must stress, I must stress, we are still at the early stage of our investigation.”
Garda sources told The Irish Times there was concern within the force after far-right agitators in the Republic seized upon news the suspect had been in Dublin before travelling to the North in February 2023, to apply for international protection.
Some had compiled videos and other material about the suspect, within minutes of his being linked to Dublin. Those posts were shared heavily on social media.
Gardaí have been liaising with the PSNI to identity any far-right agitators travelling from the Republic to the North to join protests.
A group of “Coolock Says No” protesters stood alongside loyalist factions in Belfast at an anti-immigration rally in August 2024. Others from Ireland have attended events with high-profile far-right figures, such as Tommy Robinson, in Britain, including at the “Unite the Kingdom” rally in London last month.
Earlier on Tuesday, the PSNI clarified that the suspect was Sudanese, not Somalian as officers initially indicated.
“We understand there are strong community concerns after last night’s shocking attempted murder in north Belfast,” the PSNI said in a statement.
“We are aware of inaccurate online posts regarding the victim’s condition. We can confirm that the injured man remains in a serious condition in hospital.
“As our investigation has progressed, we can also confirm that the man in custody is Sudanese and not Somalian, as initially believed.”
On Tuesday morning, Henderson confirmed “a critical incident” had been declared and an investigation to establish a motive was under way.
“This brutal attack will have sent shock waves through the community, causing real concern,” he said. “I want to reassure the local community that we are treating this attack with the utmost seriousness.”
UK prime minister Keir Starmer condemned the attack as “horrific”.
“I have absolutely no tolerance for abhorrent scenes of violence like this on our streets,” he said.
Police were at the scene within minutes while one emergency ambulance and advanced paramedic also attended.
Following assessment and initial treatment, the victim was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
The scene of the attack, outside an apartment complex off Kinnaird Avenue, remained cordoned off on Tuesday morning, with markers visible on the ground where it had taken place.
DUP leader Gavin Robinson warned it could have potentially “seismic consequences” and called on the police to make public the facts around the incident to combat the spread of misinformation.
He described the incident as barbaric.
“This was a systematic mutilation of a human being on the streets of Belfast,” he said.
North Belfast MP John Finucane visited the scene on Tuesday and said the attack was “appalling”.
“This is deeply shocking, there is no place for violence of any kind in our communities,” he said.
A debate on the attack took place in the Northern Ireland Assembly on Tuesday during which O’Neill described it as “harrowing”.
Long also praised the “brave people who disarmed the attacker”.
She appealed to people not to share the “very graphic” images and footage of the incident.
Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said she had contacted Starmer to ensure “full and urgent co-operation” with the UK home office regarding what information they held on the man arrested in relation to the attempted murder.
It is understood the PSNI held emergency meetings to draw up plans for how to deal with any unrest following the attack, after far-right figures online called for people to take to the streets of Belfast on Tuesday night.
