Two firefighters responding to a blazing lorry during Belfast's second night of riots have been caught on camera fighting each other, with one delivering a hard headbutt. The incident unfolded as violence escalated across the city.
Video Captures the Confrontation
Footage captured by a news helicopter shows both firefighters standing face to face as the lorry fire roared behind them. Dressed in full firefighting gear, they confronted each other, bashing their helmets and shoving before one headbutted the other. A colleague intervened to separate them.
Victim's Family Appeals for Calm
Meanwhile, the family of Stephen Ogilvie, who lost an eye in a knife attack and may lose the other, called for calm. The 43-year-old is in an induced coma after being stabbed. Rioters chanting “foreigners out” torched cars, houses, and a bus, prompting police to deploy water cannons for the first time in years.
Ulster Unionist Party leader Jon Burrows relayed the victim's father's plea: “Please stop spreading disinformation online. False posts claiming his son has died cause immense distress.”
Police Use Water Cannons
Riot police deployed water cannons against demonstrators who lit fires and threw projectiles. Dozens of masked men gathered on Antrim Road in Newtownabbey, throwing objects at police vehicles. Two water cannons were fired near the Sandyknowes roundabout.
Hadi Alodid, 30, a Sudanese national, appeared in court charged with attempted murder, threats to kill, and possession of a knife. Doctors are battling to save Ogilvie's remaining eye.
