Northern Ireland experienced a second consecutive night of violent unrest as police deployed water cannons against rioters, while the family of the Belfast stabbing victim expressed their disgust at the ensuing chaos. Officers were pelted with bricks and petrol bombs by masked rioters in County Antrim, with the scenes broadcast live on national television.
Clashes and Destruction
A Department for Infrastructure vehicle was set ablaze as masked gangs confronted police near the Sandyknowes roundabout in Newtownabbey, northwest of Belfast. Video footage captured hundreds of individuals, predominantly men dressed in black with covered faces, gathering on Antrim Road. They were seen tearing bricks from buildings and smashing paving stones with sledgehammers to create projectiles to throw at law enforcement.
Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn confirmed that 12 police officers were injured and 16 arrests were made during the second night of disorder following the Belfast knife attack. Images from the scene showed gangs attempting to set fire to a derelict building adjacent to a petrol station in Newtownabbey, with some throwing petrol bombs at police lines. Rioters also seized wheelie bins from residential properties and ignited them.
In Derry, officers reported objects being set alight on Ardmore Road. Public transport services were suspended, and some schools closed early on Wednesday due to concerns about further unrest. Violence also erupted in Scotland, where several arrests were made.
Victim's Family Speaks Out
The unrest was sparked by a knife attack on Monday, for which Hadi Alodid, 30, appeared in court on Wednesday charged with attempted murder. The victim, Stephen Ogilvie, aged in his 40s, lost an eye and remains in a stable condition in a Belfast hospital, reportedly in an induced coma. His family urged the public to stop sharing false information on social media about the attack, stating they felt disgusted by the subsequent disorder.
In a statement released by police, the family said: "We want to make it absolutely clear that to do this in response is not supported by our family, and peaceful protest is only ever the way forward. We have many migrants who make a deeply valuable contribution to our country, including from within our healthcare system and hospitality sector, and we depend on them to make our country work. We do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility – do not do this in the name of our loved one as we do not share the same values."
Government Response
Cabinet Office minister Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent informed the House of Lords that 27 people were rendered homeless on Tuesday night "because people went door-to-door to try and target foreign nationals to burn them out of their homes." Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer vowed to "crack down on anyone who is fuelling this division."
Alodid faced Belfast Magistrates' Court on Wednesday morning on charges of attempted murder of Mr Ogilvie, making threats to kill an NHS radiographer, and possessing a knife. District Judge Stephen Keown denied bail, citing police fears of "significant public disorder" if he were released due to "strong public feeling." The judge warned that anyone planning further unrest in Northern Ireland should "be prepared to go to prison."
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) cautioned that social media users sharing addresses of properties online or through apps are "putting lives at risk" and may be committing a criminal offence. A PSNI spokesperson said: "We have received phone calls from a number of families, house owners, neighbours and members of the wider community who are extremely distressed as a result of this reckless activity."
