A Sudanese national is being held on suspicion of attempted murder after a frenzied knife attack in Belfast left a man with significant eye injuries and prompted online attempts to provoke violent street protests.
Police in Northern Ireland called for calm amid concerns that demonstrations in Belfast and elsewhere could lead to disorder following online postings by far-right agitators demanding that shops be closed by 5.30pm and streets sealed off.
One widely distributed social media message called for protest participants to “prepare to fight or be arrested” – as a target list of 70 towns and cities across Britain was disseminated on social media.
Far-right leader Tommy Robinson shared the list and called on people at locations from London to Dumfries to gather on Tuesday evening.
More widely, the Belfast attack risks fueling attempts to inflame public opinion by conflating crimes involving members of ethnic minorities with demands for tighter immigration controls.
Video footage of the incident in north Belfast on Monday night appeared to show a man with a knife holding down another man in a residential street, repeatedly slashing at his victim before bystanders intervened. One man could be seen subduing the attacker by striking him about the head with a hurling stick moments before police officers arrived.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said that the victim, a man in his 40s, remained in a serious condition in hospital with significant injuries to his eyes as well as knife wounds to his face and back. PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said there were no immediate indications that the attack was terrorism related.
What do we know about the alleged attacker?
After initially describing the suspect as Somali, police clarified on Tuesday that the man under arrest is a Sudanese national who had been granted leave to remain the UK after arriving in Belfast from Dublin three years ago.
The disclosure, confirmed by the Home Office, means that the man, who is in his 30s, was in the UK legally, although the full circumstances of his arrival in the country and the basis of his asylum claim have not been made public.
PSNI said the suspect was believed to have travelled from Sudan to Paris and then from Paris to Dublin on unspecified dates. He then took a bus from the Irish capital to Belfast in February 2023 and immediately claimed asylum. The Home Office said the man was given leave to remain in the UK in September 2023 for a five-year period expiring in 2028.
Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson speaking to the media at Police Headquarters in Belfast following the stabbing outside apartments in the Kinnaird Avenue area of north Belfast. (Photo: Liam McBurney/PA Wire)The Irish Republic has in recent years seen a sharp increase in the number of asylum seekers arriving in the country, with some 45,000 arriving in the three years to 2024. Irish ministers said last year that the majority of arrivals had come from Northern Ireland, but acknowledged that migrants were also travelling from Ireland into the UK.
Leave to remain is the status granted to foreign nationals who are already in the UK. It is divided into two categories – indefinite leave to remain, which allows permanent residency and is a stepping stone to full citizenship; and limited leave to remain which imposes time limits such as for a period of study.
Asylum seekers are generally granted limited leave to remain for five years and can then seek the indefinite category once that period expires. Some 3,376 asylum applications by Sudanese nationals were made in 2023 as the country suffered the outbreak of a vicious civil war which remains ongoing.
The PSNI said the man had been living in the Kinnaird Avenue area of north Belfast where the attack was carried out. The area is a predominantly nationalist part of the city which also borders loyalist neighbourhoods.
The graphic video footage, apparently shot by a local resident, shows the tall attacker straddling his victim on the floor outside some blocks of flats and briefly shouting some words in what may be a Sudanese dialect before recommencing his assault.
Horrified bystanders can be heard calling for help and shouting at the man to stop his assault, with one voice saying: “He’s trying to cut his head off.”
Police said a kitchen knife had been recovered from the scene of the assault.
What do we know about those who intervened?
The video shows three members of the public rushing to intervene in the assault, including a man who brandishes a hurley stick – a shorter version of a hockey stick with a wide, flattened end used in the sport of hurling.
The knife-wielding suspect is subdued after a number of blows to the head, with two police officers arriving moments later to make an arrest.
The man holding the hurling stick was on Tuesday night named as Maitiu Mag Tighearnan, a father who had been visiting his partner on the street where the attack took place and happened upon the unfolding assault.
He told The Daily Telegraph that he had “just landed there by chance” and managed on the spur of the moment to “protect a lad”.
Police attend the scene of the stabbing which happened at about 10.30pm on Monday night. A Sudanese national in his 30s is being held on suspicion of attempted murder. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)The video footage shows the hurley striking the suspect about the head five times, knocking him to the ground in an attempt to stop the assault. Moments later, two other men, thought to be locals, reach down to restrain the attacker.
An onlooker can then be heard shouting: “There’s a cop. There’s a cop. Back off. Back off.” Two policemen then rushed to separate the attacker from his victim before filming stopped.
Police and politicians, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer praised the men for their intervention. Mr Henderson said: “It is… important to acknowledge the bravery of those members of the public who ran before danger to intervene and help the injured man.
What have police and politicians said about the attack and the public response?
Senior officers and political figures in Northern Ireland have called for calm in the wake of the “brutal” knife attack amid concerns that disorder which has previously scarred Belfast could return and also spread elsewhere in the UK.
Mr Henderson said he shared “public revulsion” at the nature of the assault but appealed for demonstrations to remain peaceful. Belfast and other parts of Northern Ireland have witnessed a number of incidents in the last 12 months which campaigners have warned amounts to a vigilante campaign targeting migrants.
The senior police officer said: “I understand that last night’s attempted murder will leave people feeling a range of emotions from fear to anger. Our officers have a role to facilitate and accommodate peaceful protest.”
(Left to right) Northern Ireland’s Justice Minister Naomi Long, deputy First Minister Emma LIttle-Pengelly, PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher, First Minister Michelle O’Neill and chair of the policing board Brenda Mullan speaking to the media at Parliament buildings at Stormont in Belfast (Photo: PA)The attack drew condemnation and horror from across the political spectrum in Northern Ireland and Westminster.
Sir Keir described the attack as “sickening”, adding: “I have absolutely no tolerance for abhorrent scenes of violence like this on our streets. My thoughts are first and foremost with the victim, and I thank the first responders, including members of the public who intervened.”
First Minister Michelle O’Neill was one of several politicians who called for those in Northern Ireland to resist external attempts to sow division within communities. She said: “Don’t let other people, who don’t care about here, incite hatred and fear.”
Fears that protests could spark disorder
Within a few hours of the Belfast attack hitting headlines, dozens of protests were announced across the Northern Ireland and the UK as AI-generated posters advertising demonstration locations were shared across social media platforms.
In Ulster, online postings named about 30 locations in the Belfast area where it was claimed roads would be closed along with demands that shops close and explicit calls for violence. One read: “Forward all men of the age of 18 and over. Wear dark clothing and be prepared to fight or be arrested.”
Another advert for a rally in Northern Ireland urged people to leave their phones and smart watches with location software on at home and for no one to record the demonstration to prevent “evidence gathering” by the police.
Far right leader Tommy Robinson posted a separate list of 70 protest sites at locations from Edinburgh to Exeter as he appeared to be attempting to marshal demonstrations from Russia. A video of him with the father of billionaire Elon Musk which was posted on Monday has been verified by The i Paper as having been recorded in the bar of a luxury five-star hotel in Moscow.
The PSNI, which is reported to have held emergency meetings to enact plans to deal with any unrest, said there would be an “increased police presence” across Northern Ireland to deal with any disorder.
Mr Henderson warned of a repetition of of previous unrest, saying: “No one needs to see a repeat of this. This only causes damage to the community, and unfortunately, young people often get caught up in that disorder, so I appeal for calm and the safety of all of our communities in response to this.”
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