Northern Ireland violence spread through parts of Belfast after police charged Hadi Alodid, 30, with attempted murder over a knife attack on Stephen Ogilvie.
Masked rioters set homes, vehicles, a bus and barricades on fire on Tuesday night. Police said two officers were injured and an extra 200 officers would deploy in Belfast.
The unrest followed the knife attack in North Belfast on Monday night. The Guardian reported that Alodid appeared before Belfast Magistrates’ Court by video link and was denied bail.
Alodid faces charges of attempted murder, possession of a knife in public and threats to kill an NHS radiographer, according to The Guardian. The case was adjourned to July 8.
The victim, Stephen Ogilvie, lost his left eye and suffered wounds to his eyes, face and back, according to PA Media. Ogilvie’s family urged people not to use the attack to divide communities.
🚨🇬🇧 BREAKING: The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) arrested a man following a violent knife attack in North Belfast on Monday night, 8 June 2026.
The attack occurred shortly after 10:30 p.m. outside an apartment building on Kinnaird Avenue, leaving a second man with…
— Nova Intel (@intel_nova) June 9, 2026Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the United Kingdom condemned both the knife attack and the racist violence that followed. Associated Press reported that families were rescued from burning homes and more than two dozen people were displaced.
Read: Belfast Anti-Immigrant Protests Erupt After Stabbing
Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill said masked groups were “burning families out of their homes,” while Justice Minister Naomi Long said online agitators had pushed anti-immigration narratives. Police said they had found no evidence so far that the knife attack was linked to terrorism.
