What happened?
Violence erupted across Belfast following a knife attack in the north of the city on Monday night, resulting in homes and vehicles being set on fire.
Emergency services were called to the Kinnaird Avenue area in north Belfast after the attack. Police arrived within minutes and arrested a man believed to be Sudanese on suspicion of attempted murder.
Video footage circulating online shows several individuals, including one wielding a hurling stick, confronting the alleged attacker until police arrived.
The victim, a man in his 40s named Stephen Ogilvy, was seriously injured and taken to hospital. Police reported he sustained slash wounds to his back and face, as well as eye injuries. A kitchen knife was recovered at the scene.
PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson described those who intervened as "heroic" and credited them with saving the victim's life.
"I want to reassure the local community that we are treating this attack with the utmost seriousness."
Who is the suspect?
The suspect, 30-year-old Hadi Alodid, resides on Duncairn Avenue in north Belfast. He was charged with attempted murder, possession of a blade or pointed article in a public place, and threats to kill an NHS worker.
Alodid appeared via video link from Musgrave Serious Crime Suite at Belfast Magistrates' Court on Wednesday. He was refused bail and remanded in custody, with a further court appearance scheduled for 8 July.
Initially, police believed the suspect to be Somali, but later confirmed he is Sudanese.
The Home Office stated that Alodid was granted refugee status in 2023 and has leave to remain in the UK until 2028. He entered the UK in 2023, claiming asylum after traveling from Sudan to Paris, then flying to Dublin, and finally taking a bus to Belfast on 10 February 2023.
"The individual claims to have entered the UK via the Common Travel Area."
Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said: "There is no trace of this suspect on any of our national security databases and he was not known to the Police Service of Northern Ireland."
What have the police said?
Police confirmed they are not seeking any other suspects in connection with the investigation.
Assistant Chief Constable Henderson said the PSNI has been liaising with senior counter-terrorism officials and stated there is no information suggesting the attack was terrorist-related, though the investigation remains in early stages.
He urged the public to be cautious about sharing footage on social media, warning it could cause further trauma to the victim's family and affect the ongoing investigation.
"By sharing footage, this could risk causing further trauma to the injured man's loved ones and may impact the ongoing investigation."
Henderson acknowledged the public's range of emotions, from fear to anger, and appealed for calm.
What do we know about the victim?
Stephen Ogilvy remains hospitalized with serious injuries, including damage to his eyes and slash wounds on his back and face. He lost his left eye as a result of the attack, as reported during the court hearing on Wednesday.
Detectives and specialist officers are providing support to Ogilvy and his family during this difficult time.
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn echoed police requests not to share footage of the attack, emphasizing respect for the victim and his family during a statement in the House of Commons on Tuesday.
How did the disorder break out?
Reports of disorder surfaced on Tuesday following the attack. Benn stated:
"Everyone has the right to express their view but in the end if we want to support the PSNI, the last thing people should be doing is stretching their resources across Northern Ireland to deal with protests that aren't going to help anyone."
On Tuesday evening, crowds gathered in areas including Antrim, Newtownabbey, and Ballymena. Approximately 200 people assembled near Newtownards Road, a unionist area on the edge of Belfast city centre. Bins were set on fire, and a BBC reporter heard two explosions as a bus caught fire.
Many participants were masked, with some waving flares.
Henderson described "sporadic pockets of disorder" across multiple locations in Northern Ireland on Tuesday night.
A police car was set ablaze in Portadown, an incident described as "disheartening" by independent assembly member Doug Beattie, occurring outside his constituency office.
Multiple homes were set on fire, including a house on Lendrick Street in east Belfast owned by a man in his 30s who has lived there for ten years.
"Cars were set alight on the road, which caught fire to my house but masked men were bashing down doors,"
reported the resident.
The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service experienced a "busy evening" on Tuesday, managing 256 calls between 19:00 and midnight. They attended 62 incidents, mostly in the Greater Belfast Area.
Pastor Jack McKee, assisting those affected by the violence, stated that people were being displaced from their homes due to their race.
"They're good Christian people and they're getting put out just because they're black,"
he said, referring to members of his church who have been with them for 20 years and whose homes were attacked.
Belfast MP Claire Hanna, leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, also stated that individuals were targeted based on their skin colour.
"What you're seeing is a race-based pogrom. We are seeing men going door to door asking to get the foreigners out based exclusively on the colour of their skin."
What has the reaction been?
First Minister Michelle O'Neill condemned the disorder as "outright thuggery":
"Groups of masked men burning families out of their homes is nothing less than disgusting cowardice."
She added:
"The attack in north Belfast was heinous and wrong. But there are dangerous attempts to exploit that, to target and attack innocent people who are simply trying to live, work and raise their families here."
Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly echoed this sentiment:
"Taking frustration at the evil actions of a person out on those who had no part in it is utterly wrong."
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the scenes in north Belfast on Tuesday night as "totally unjustified" during a Commons statement on Wednesday.
"People are rightly sickened by the horrific attack on Monday night in north Belfast,"
he told MPs.
On social media platform X, the Prime Minister added he would "not tolerate" violence against people "because of their background."
Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice condemned the violence and urged peaceful expression of frustration.
When questioned about his party's call to ban all visas for Sudanese asylum seekers, he responded:
"It is absolute and it is proportionate."
"We have to be courageous and say enough is enough,"
Tice added.
Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn condemned the "thuggery" and stated the disorder was damaging communities and endangering innocent lives.
He wrote on X:
"I echo the call from the PSNI for this violence to end now."
Northern Ireland Justice Minister Naomi Long said those committing violent acts were "weaponising genuine hurt, concern and anger".
"There is no place for masked thugs to take to the streets and threaten, intimidate, disrupt and cause wanton damage,"
she said, adding:
"Hate cannot be allowed to win."
Sinn Féin's John Finucane, North Belfast MP, expressed revulsion at the attack but condemned the subsequent violence.
"There is understandable disgust and revulsion at the horrific attempted murder that took place last night. I share that revulsion.
But the scenes we are witnessing tonight, family homes attacked, cars burnt, damaged infrastructure and parts of our community in flames, are shameful and disgraceful."
