Belfast attack and disorder: What we know

Violence has broken out across Belfast with homes and vehicles set on fire following a knife attack in the north of the city on Monday night.

A man is in hospital with serious wounds after the attack, and a 30-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder.

Hadi Alodid, who is Sudanese, was arrested at the scene and appeared in court on Wednesday. He was remanded into custody.

Politicians and police have called for calm after people took to the streets across the city, with some reporting that residents were targeted based on their skin colour.

How did the knife attack unfold?

Emergency services were called to the Kinnaird Avenue area in north Belfast on Monday night following a knife attack.

Police were at the scene within minutes and a man believed to be Sudanese was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

Video circulating online shows a number of people, including one wielding a hurling stick, confronting the apparent attacker until the police arrived.

A man injured in the attack, aged in his 40s, has been named as Stephen Ogilvy. He is in hospital where his condition is described as serious.

Police said Ogilvy had slash wounds to his back and face, and eye injuries. The force recovered what it believed to be a kitchen knife at the scene.

PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said those who intervened were "heroic" and had "saved the life" of the victim.

He added: "I want to reassure the local community that we are treating this attack with the utmost seriousness."

What do we know about the victim?

Ogilvy is in hospital with "serious injuries to his eyes and slash-wound injuries to his back and face", police said.

He lost his left eye in the attack, Belfast Magistrates' Court heard on Wednesday.

Henderson said that detectives and specialist officers were supporting the victim and his family "at this difficult time".

In a statement, Ogilvy's family said the unrest is "not welcome", adding that they do not want this "terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility".

They said: "We have many migrants who make a deeply valuable contribution to our country, including in our healthcare system and hospitality sector and we depend on them to make our country work."

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn repeated the police appeal not to share footage of the attack out of respect for the victim and his family, while speaking in the House of Commons on Tuesday.

Who is the suspect?

The suspect, 30-year-old Hadi Alodid, lives in Duncairn Avenue in north Belfast.

Alodid has been charged with attempted murder, possession of an article with blade or point in a public place and threats to kill an NHS worker.

He appeared at Belfast Magistrates' Court via video link from Musgrave Serious Crime Suite.

Alodid was refused bail and was remanded into custody to appear in court again on 8 July.

An initial statement from the PSNI on Tuesday morning said police believed the suspect was Somali, but they later confirmed that he is Sudanese.

The Home Office said the suspect was on leave to remain in the UK until 2028. He entered the UK in 2023 and was granted refugee status the same year.

"The individual claims to have entered the UK via the Common Travel Area", a spokesperson said.

Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said he understood that the suspect made his way from Sudan to Paris before flying to Dublin, and then travelled by bus to Belfast on 10 February 2023 - the date on which he claimed asylum.

He told reporters at Stormont: "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 said they were not seeking anyone else in connection with the investigation.

Henderson said the force had been liaising with senior counter-terrorism officials, adding: "We have no information to suggest this was terrorist-related. However, we are still at the early stages of our investigation."

He asked the public to be "mindful" of what they share on social media, telling them: "By sharing footage, this could risk causing further trauma to the injured man's loved ones and may impact the ongoing investigation."

Henderson said he understood that people would be feeling "a range of emotions from fear to angry" and appealed for calm.

How did the disorder break out?

Reports of disorder emerged on Tuesday.

Benn said: "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 began to gather in areas including Antrim, Newtownabbey, and Ballymena.

About 200 people gathered near Newtownards Road, a unionist area on the edge of Belfast city centre. Bins were set alight in the road and a BBC reporter heard two explosions as a bus caught fire.

Many of the group were masked, with some waving flares.

Henderson said there had been "sporadic pockets of disorder" in a number of locations across Northern Ireland on Tuesday night.

A police car was set on fire in Portadown, with independent assembly member Doug Beattie describing the incident, which happened outside his constituency office, as "disheartening".

Communications regulator Ofcom said some of Tuesday's disorder "appears to have been incited online", including "racially motivated incidents of violence, arson attacks on homes and vehicles, and attacks against police".

The watchdog added it was contacting specific providers, but has not confirmed which ones.

Multiple homes were set alight, including a house on Lendrick Street in east Belfast belonging to a man in his 30s, who said he had lived there for 10 years.

"Cars were set alight on the road, which caught fire to my house but masked men were bashing down doors," he said.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service says it had a "busy evening" on Tuesday, managing 256 calls between 19:00 and midnight.

The fire service attended 62 incidents, with the majority in the Greater Belfast Area.

A pastor who has been helping those in houses targeted in the violence said people were being put out of their homes "because they're black".

Pastor Jack McKee was at the scene where multiple houses were on fire around the Crumlin Road in north Belfast. He said some members of his church "who have been with us for 20 years" were "getting put out of their home, had their house attacked, windows smashed, houses beside them burned".

"They're good Christian people and they're getting put out just because they're black."

Claire Hanna, Belfast MP and leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, also said that people were being targeted because of their race.

She told BBC Newsnight: "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 described the disorder as "outright thuggery", saying: "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."

In a post on X, the PM added he would "not tolerate" violence against people "because of their background".

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday morning, Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice condemned the violence in Belfast and urged people to express their frustration "peacefully".

When asked if his party's call for all visas for Sudanese asylum seekers be banned was proportionate he responded: "It is absolute and it is proportionate."

"We have to be courageous and say enough is enough," Tice added.

Northern Ireland Justice Minister Naomi Long said those carrying out violent acts were "weaponising genuine hurt, concern and anger" that people are feeling.

"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, said: "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."