Petrol bombs, fires and fear as racial tensions explode in Northern Ireland town following teen rape charges

BALLYMENA, June 11 — Violence flared for a second yesterday night in a Northern Irish town after 'racially motivated' attacks sparked by the arrest of two teenagers accused of attempting to rape a young girl.
Hundreds of protestors, many of them masked, took to the streets of Ballymena, throwing petrol bombs, bottles and masonry as police responded with water cannon, an AFP journalist said.
There was a heavy police presence in one area of the town, some 30 miles (48 kilometres) northwest of Belfast, as the protesters set fire to a car and barricades. Police also fired plastic baton rounds to disperse the crowds, an AFP journalist saw.
Later as night fell, crowds began to disperse in Ballymena although smaller groups still milled around the town centre. And local media reported that protestors were also blocking roads in Belfast.
The unrest first erupted Monday night after a vigil in a neighbourhood where an alleged serious sexual assault happened on Saturday.
'This violence was clearly racially motivated and targeted at our minority ethnic community and police,' Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said Tuesday.
He told a press conference: 'It was racist thuggery, pure and simply, and any attempt to justify it or explain it as something else is misplaced.'
Tensions in the town, which has a large migrant population, remained high throughout the day on Tuesday, as residents described the scenes as 'terrifying' and told AFP those involved were targeting 'foreigners'.
Two teenage boys, charged by police with the attempted rape of a teenage girl, had appeared in court Monday, where they asked for a Romanian interpreter, local media reports said.
The trouble began when masked people 'broke away from the vigil and began to build barricades, stockpiling missiles and attacking properties', police said.
Houses and businesses were attacked, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said, adding it was investigating 'hate attacks'.
Security forces also came under 'sustained attack' with petrol bombs, fireworks and bricks thrown by rioters, injuring 15 officers including some who required hospital treatment, according to the force.
One 29-year-old man was arrested and charged with riotous behaviour, disorderly behaviour, attempted criminal damage and resisting police.
Four houses were damaged by fire, and windows and doors of homes and businesses smashed.
Cornelia Albu, 52, a Romanian migrant and mother-of-two who lives opposite a house targeted in the attacks, said her family had been 'very scared'.
'Last night it was crazy because too many people came here and tried to put the house on fire,' Albu, who works in a factory, told AFP.
She said she would now have to move, but was worried she would not find another place to live because she was Romanian.
This handout photo taken and released by the US Marine Corps on June 10, 2025 shows US Marines with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, who were placed in an alert status over the weekend to support US Northern Command mission, rehearsing nonlethal tactics in the greater Los Angeles area. — AFP pic
'Scared as hell'
A 22-year-old woman who lives next door to a burnt-out house in the same Clonavon neighbourhood said the night had been 'terrifying'.
'People were going after foreigners, whoever they were, or how innocent they were,' the woman, who did not want to share her name for security reasons, told AFP.
'But there were local people indoors down the street scared as hell.'
Northern Ireland saw racism-fuelled disorder in August after similar riots in English towns and cities triggered by the fatal stabbing of three young girls in Southport, northwest England.
According to Mark, 24, who did not share his last name, the alleged rape on the weekend was 'just a spark'.
'The foreigners around here don't show respect to the locals, they come here, don't integrate,' said Mark.
Another man was halfway up a ladder, hanging a Union Jack flag in front of his house as a 'precaution—so people know it's not a foreigner living here'.
'Ballymena has a large migrant population, a lot of people actually work in the town and provide excellent work,' Mayor Jackson Minford told AFP.
'Last night unfortunately has probably scared a lot of people. We are actively working to identify those responsible and bring them to justice,' said Henderson.
A spokesman for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the 'disorder' in Ballymena was 'very concerning'. — AFP

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Malay Mail

19 hours ago

• Malay Mail

Cops arrest couple over string of housebreakings, robberies in Melaka, KL and Selangor, seize stolen goods, gold and cars

MELAKA, June 21 — Police have arrested a couple suspected of involvement in seven housebreaking and robbery cases in Melaka and neighbouring states since January this year. Melaka Tengah police chief ACP Christopher Patit said the unemployed lovebirds, aged 24 and 31, were arrested in Kuala Kurau, Perak, on June 4. 'On May 28, police received two reports involving a housebreaking and robbery in the Melaka Tengah district linked to the couple. 'Their modus operandi included targeting homestays and stealing various electrical appliances and furniture from the premises,' he said in a statement today. Initial investigations found that the pair were involved in three housebreaking and robbery cases in Melaka Tengah and four others in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, respectively. Various items, including electrical appliances, household furniture, a gold bracelet, two cars, five pawnshop receipts, and five mobile phones were seized.. He said investigations are still underway, and the case is being investigated under Section 457 of the Penal Code for housebreaking and Section 392 of the Penal Code for robbery. In a separate development, he said a clothing dealer was arrested for allegedly firing a shot with an air pistol at Jalan Johor, Semabok, on June 8. 'Following intelligence gathering and public tip-off, the 35-year-old suspect was arrested in Puchong, Selangor, on June 17. Police also seized a black bag, a silver-black air pistol bearing the inscription Pietro Beretta Gardone V.T., a speed loader, and 30 ball-bearing bullets. The suspect has been remanded for seven days until June 23 to assist in the investigation under Section 33 of the Arms Act 1960 and Section 427 of the Penal Code for mischief. The case is still under investigation, and he urged the public not to speculate, as it could interfere with the ongoing probe. — Bernama

Malay Mail

20 hours ago

• Malay Mail

Police hunt trio after machete-wielding robbery at Teluk Intan entertainment outlet

IPOH, June 21 — Police have mounted a manhunt for three male suspects involved in an armed robbery at an entertainment outlet along Jalan Changkat Jong, Teluk Intan, on June 15. Hilir Perak police chief ACP Dr Bakri Zainal Abidin said one of the suspects has been identified as a 37-year-old local man with a prior criminal record. 'This suspect has also been placed on the wanted list, and efforts to track down all three individuals are being intensified,' he said in a statement today. He added that the Forensic Unit from the Perak contingent police headquarters (IPK) visited the scene and collected several pieces of evidence, including bloodstains, two fingerprints, broken glass fragments, and closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage. Earlier, a 30-second video went viral on social media, showing three masked men exiting a Honda car and brandishing machetes at individuals at an entertainment outlet. Bakri said a police report on the incident was lodged at 1.02 am on June 15 at the Hilir Perak district police headquarters by a 42-year-old security guard employed at the premises. He said that the three suspects had stormed into the premises, damaged property, and fled with an iPhone 14 Pro belonging to an employee, along with RM2,000 in cash taken from the counter. He added that the suspects also injured two customers with the machetes and smashed the windows of four vehicles parked near the premises. Police have opened an investigation paper under Section 395/397 of the Penal Code for armed robbery and Section 427 of the Penal Code for mischief involving damage to public property. — Bernama

Malay Mail

21 hours ago

• Malay Mail

Costly click: Facebook investment scam drains Johor retiree of RM535,000 in three months

JOHOR BARU, June 21 — A private sector retiree lost RM535,766 after allegedly falling victim to an online investment scam promoted via an advertisement on the Facebook application. Seri Alam District Police chief ACP Mohd Sohaimi Ishak said the police received a report from a 57-year-old local man on Tuesday, who claimed losses exceeding RM500,000. He said the victim had come across a share investment advertisement on Facebook on March 13 that promised lucrative returns within a short time, and clicked on the provided link out of interest. 'Subsequently, the victim made 26 payment transactions into five different bank accounts between March 13 and June 5, totalling RM535,766. The victim was also asked to make additional payments to withdraw the so-called 'investment profits', but those requests were never fulfilled,' he said in a statement today. Mohd Sohaimi said the victim only realised he had been duped after repeated attempts to recover the investment funds proved futile. 'Preliminary checks via the CCID's 'Semak Mule' platform found that all five accounts involved had a total of 22 police reports linked to investment scams,' he said. The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating, and police are also looking into the possible involvement of mule account holders. — Bernama