Belfast knife attack: Violent riots broke out in Belfast, Northern Ireland with masked rioters torching vehicles and attacking homes of racial minorities after a Sudanese immigrant attacked a 40-year-old local with a knife and allegedly attempted to behead the man in full public view.
‘He’s trying to cut his head off’
Disturbing visuals of the Belfast knife attack shared on social media showed the crazed attacker mounted on the chest of the bloodied victim, allegedly trying to decapitate him at Kinnaird Avenue, North Belfast on Monday night as terrified pedestrians watched in disbelief.
The visibly distraught woman is seen calling the police, pleading them to save the man. “You just need to get here, he’s gonna die,” she says.
As per reports, the victim, a 40-year-old white male, was saved because a passerby fought off the armed attacker. The victim was rushed to a hospital is stated to be in a critical condition.
How Belfast knife attack unfolded?
According to reports, the shocking incident unfolded at around 10:30 PM on Monday in the Kinnaird Avenue area of North Belfast, when the assailant, a 30-year-old Sudanese refugee who had been given leave to stay in the UK until 2028, was seen launching a frenzied attack with a large kitchen knife on a 40-year-old man.
The suspect had come to the UK in 2023 via Paris and Dublin, before applying for asylum, while the victim, whose condition is stated to be serious, was identified by locals as Stephen Ogilvie, BBC reported..
“He’s lived here for around a year and a half and has been a bit of a nuisance, but what’s happened to him is absolutely horrendous, and I’d never wish that on anybody,” one of Stephen’s neighbours told the UK-based news outlet, The Sun.
Social media visuals showed the attacker repeatedly stabbing Stephen in the back and when he slumped to the ground, he leapt on him and sat across his chest. The assailant then starts hacking at Stephen’s neck as screamed at him to get off, but he warned them off by waving his knife at them.
Eye-witnesses described the attacker as appearing calm and even licking blood from his lips, The Sun reported.
How locals fought off attacker, saved Stephen Ogilvie?
As per a BBC report, a local resident named Maitiu Mag Tighearnan, known locally as Matt, confronted the armed assailant with sticks, and Matt managed to hit the attacker on the head with the hurling stick, before other bystanders rushed in and hauled off the Sudanese national, who had attempted to fight back by biting the rescuers.
Another local, Karen Mulholland, dialled 999, the UK’s emergency phone number, using a delivery driver’s phone. Mullohand recalled that she was “standing in the street shaking” while making the call, and told the BBC that she was in her home with her partner and children when they heard screaming outside.
She said delivery driver handed his phone to her so she could talk to 999. I said: “You just need to get here, he’s gonna die”. “I saw evil in that guy’s eyes. He was licking his lips with the blood. He was enjoying it,” Karen told the Irish Sun.
Masked rioters go on rampage after Belfast knife attack
Meanwhile, chaos erupted on the streets of Belfast after Monday’s knife attack as asked rioters hijacked and set fire to vehicles, blocked roads, and attacked homes of racial minorities.
A BBC report said masked rioters, some of them as young as 16, descended on the streets of Belfast on Tuesday, hijacking and torching public and personal vehicles, blocking roads, and attacking homes of racial minorities.
A pastor at the scene where multiple houses were set on fire around Crumlin Road in North Belfast said people were being put out of houses “because they’re black.” In another scene, about 100 masked men made their way down a street and kicked in doors and broke windows. Some of them were allegedly heard seeing they were “getting the foreigners out”, the BBC reported.
“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,” the BBC quoted a local MP as saying.
The Belfast knife attack comes days after a Southampton student, Henry Nowak, was stabbed to death by a dagger-wielding Sikh assailant, sparking protests across the United Kingdom.
What did the police say?
Meanwhile, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said its officers arrived at the scene in minutes, arrested the assailant and administered first aid to the survivor, Stephen, who remains in a serious condition and has been left with significant injuries to his face, neck and back.
As per an official press release, the assailant has been charged with attempted murder, possession of an article with a blade or point in a public place and threats to kill. He is due to appear at Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
The police also credited locals and their intervention with saving Stephen’s life. “Our officers were on the scene within minutes, and we wish to acknowledge the members of the public who strived to save the man from further attack. Their willingness to step forward to help another person shows incredible bravery and community spirit,” Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson was quoted as saying.
First published on: Jun 10, 2026 06:20 PM IST
Get Breaking News First and Latest Updates from India and around the world on News24. Follow News24 on Facebook, Twitter.
End of Article
Related Story
