Rioting breaks out for second night as Belfast attack victim’s family react with ‘disgust’

There was a second night of rioting in Northern Ireland following a stabbing attack in Belfast on Monday; Masked protesters lit fire and threw bricks at police, who responded with water cannons.

The chaos unfolded in Glengormley, Newtownabbey, north-west Belfast, just hours after the family of attack victim Stephen Ogilvie appealed for calm after houses and vehicles in the town were torched on Tuesday.

Reacting to the latest disturbance on the Antrim Road near the Sandyknowes junction, Mr Ogilvie’s relatives, who are said to be in stable health, expressed their “disgust” at the scene. Earlier yesterday, Hadi Alodid, 30, appeared at Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Monday charged with attempted murder in connection with the stabbing attack in which Mr Ogilvie lost his eye.

Despite pleas from Mr Ogilvie’s family and an extra 200 police officers being deployed to deal with any disorder, videos shared on social media first appeared to show masked gangs trying to march to a hotel in Glengormley, where they were confronted by riot police.

Pushed back onto Antrim Road, black-clad protesters smashed parts of the pavement and walls of suburban homes and threw objects at police, who responded with water cannons to drench those approaching.

As the conflict between police and protesters continued, some lined up trash cans along the road and set them on fire.

Rioters were also seen breaking a metal fence to gain access to the Sandyknowes Sewage Pumping Station, while a street cleaner was set on fire at a Ministry of Infrastructure depot.

Locals said they believed the recent unrest was motivated by an expression of anger fueled by social media against immigrants, as well as an opportunity to “take some punches”.

The violence in Newtownabbey appeared to be the flashpoint in Northern Ireland, where there has been little unrest elsewhere in the country, despite meetings at the Houses of Parliament on the Stormont grounds in Belfast and the University of Ulster in Coleraine.

There was a heavy police presence on Lendrick Street, where houses were destroyed after cars were set on fire on Tuesday. Hours earlier it was the scene of migrants being rescued from their homes, but on Wednesday night it was quiet.

Residents refused to be filmed, but a man named Glen, who watched the world’s media survey the debris in his neighbourhood, said the violence had “been brewing for some time”.

“There is no excuse for what happened here. Young people were terrified. When cars were burned, children were burning in houses.”

“They attacked this street because there were more foreigners here than the others. But they are good people. One of them is a priest who wanders around with food baskets,” he said.

The rioting began late on Tuesday when Alodid, who arrived in the UK in 2023, was charged with attempted murder in connection with a stabbing in the city.

Mr Ogilvie’s family had urged people not to take part in violent protests following a night of mayhem on Tuesday.

Following Wednesday’s unrest, they said: “We are disgusted by the scenes unfolding in Northern Ireland in the wake of what happened. We would like to make it absolutely clear in response that doing so is not supported by our family and that peaceful protest is only the way forward.”

“We have many immigrants who make invaluable contributions to our country, including our healthcare system and our hospitality industry, and we rely on them to keep our country functioning. We do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or incite hostility. Do not do this in the name of our loved ones, because we do not share the same values.”

In addition to additional police officers on streets in the area on Wednesday, public transport was also stopped and some schools were closed early.

Sir Keir Starmer vowed to “bring down anyone fueling this division”. The Prime Minister said the rioting in Belfast was “shocking and completely unacceptable”.

“It’s clear that people were targeted last night because of their past, and I will not tolerate that,” he said. “Those responsible will feel the full force of the law.”