Water cannon deployed after Belfast stabbing sparks unrest

Police fired a water cannon at protesters in Northern Ireland on Wednesday night as a second evening of disorder followed a knife attack in Belfast that left a man seriously injured and fueled anti-immigration unrest.

Riot police came under sustained attack at the Sandyknowes roundabout in Glengormley, about eight miles north-west of Belfast city centre, where people threw bricks, bottles, wood and petrol bombs. Footage showed masked people dressed in black tearing up driveways and fences outside nearby homes to use as missiles. A Department for Infrastructure vehicle was set on fire, bins were burned and the crowd attempted to set fire to a derelict property, the BBC reported.

The violence came hours after Hadi Alodid, 30, originally from Sudan, appeared by video at Belfast Magistrates’ Court charged with attempted murder over Monday’s knife attack in north Belfast. The victim, Stephen Ogilvie, who is in his 40s, suffered serious injuries. The BBC reported that he has lost his left eye and has damage to his right eye, along with injuries to his neck and back.

A detective told the court that police found Alodid on top of Ogilvie at the scene, armed with a kitchen knife, CBS News reported. The court was told Alodid later said in hospital, “I’ve killed someone, I don’t know if they are dead,” and threatened a radiographer, saying, “I will kill you.” He was also charged with possessing a knife and threatening to kill the radiographer while being treated for a hand injury. He refused legal representation through an Arabic interpreter and did not enter a plea. He was ordered held in jail.

Police said Alodid entered Northern Ireland from the Republic of Ireland in 2023, applied for asylum and was granted a five-year permit to remain. The Police Service of Northern Ireland said there was no information to suggest the knife attack was terrorism-related.

Tuesday night’s violence was more widespread. Masked men set fire to houses they believed were occupied by immigrants, burned a Belfast bus and cars, and threw petrol bombs and other objects at police. BBC reporter Kelly Bonner said the masked men shouted “foreigners out” as they set bins alight. Firefighters rescued several people from burning houses, including families and a two-month-old baby. A UK minister said 27 people were made homeless “because people went door-to-door to try and target foreign nationals.”

Ogilvie’s family appealed for calm, saying in a statement that the unrest “is not welcome.” They said: “We want to make it absolutely clear that overnight unrest is not welcome, and peaceful protest is the only way forward.” The family added that many migrants make “a deeply valuable contribution” to society and said they did not want the attack used “to divide people or fuel hostility.” On Wednesday night, they said Ogilvie was in stable condition and that they were responding to “a lot of false information on social media.”

Police drafted in additional officers, though the BBC reported Wednesday’s disorder was not on the same scale as Tuesday’s. Public transport shut down across Northern Ireland, some schools closed early and many Belfast businesses closed by lunchtime. Protests were also reported in east Belfast, Coleraine, Derry and at Stormont, with several largely peaceful gatherings elsewhere.

Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said 200 more officers would be on the streets and urged people not to be swept up by online claims from people who “know nothing about Northern Ireland.” Police also warned that social media users posting addresses or highlighting properties were “putting lives at risk” and may be committing a crime.

Political leaders condemned the disorder. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the stabbing “sickening” but said the violence and arson that followed were “totally unjustified.” First Minister Michelle O’Neill described the unrest as “thuggery,” saying, “Groups of masked men burning families out of their homes is nothing less than disgusting cowardice.” Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said taking anger over one person’s alleged actions out on others “is utterly wrong.”

Northern Ireland Justice Minister Naomi Long said online agitators were “weaponizing” local fears. “If you’re driving people from their homes based on nothing but the color of their skin, you can’t dress that up any other way, it’s racism,” she told the BBC.