Belfast unrest erupts after stabbing video spreads online across Northern Ireland

A brutal stabbing in north Belfast became a wider outbreak of unrest once video of the attack spread online and was pushed by far-right figures. By the next day, cars, homes and a bus were burning in Belfast and across Northern Ireland, turning one street attack on Kinnaird Avenue into a fast-moving test of public order.

Police said the victim, Stephen Ogilvie, is a man in his 40s who remains in hospital with serious injuries to his face, neck and back. Belfast Magistrates’ Court heard that he has lost his left eye. Hadi Alodid, a 30-year-old Sudanese man, appeared in court on June 10 charged with attempted murder and related weapons offences and was remanded in custody for four weeks. Police said the case was being treated as a critical incident and that they had no information at that stage to suggest terrorism. Officers also said a kitchen knife was found at the scene and that all video and online footage was being reviewed for possible further arrests and charges.

The disorder that followed on June 9 did not stay in Belfast. PSNI said it spread to greater Belfast and to Ballyclare, Newtownabbey, Carrickfergus, Greyabbey, Portadown, Armagh, Kilkeel, Bangor, Lisburn, Magherafelt and Enniskillen. Roads were blocked, shops closed early and police and firefighters were called to multiple incidents as flames took hold in several communities. The pattern was familiar enough for authorities to move quickly, setting up a Public Order Enquiry Team as the footage kept circulating and more scenes were shared online.

Northern Ireland’s five main political parties issued a joint statement condemning the stabbing and urging calm, saying there was no place in society for such brutality. First Minister Michelle O’Neill condemned both the attack and the disorder, calling scenes of families being driven from their homes “disgusting cowardice.” Justice Minister Naomi Long blamed far-right commentators for stoking racial tensions, while Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the scenes were completely unacceptable and that people were being targeted because of their background. Local leaders described the violence as anti-immigrant and racially motivated, a reading that reflects a broader pattern of disorder in Northern Ireland and the wider UK, where online amplification has repeatedly turned isolated attacks into communal flashpoints.