Masked men confront nurse as Belfast disorder continues for second night

Fear moved from the rioting streets into the daily commute when a nurse was chased by four masked men on her way to Ulster Hospital, then still insisted on working her shift. In Glengormley, residents said the violence had turned homes, roads and ordinary routines into targets, with one man describing a van pushed toward his house and families pulled from burning properties.

Paul Sharkey said he was “petrified” as he watched a masked man walk up his street and set fire to homes. “A van was set alight and pushed towards my home,” he said, while Anselme Shima, a Belfast resident originally from Congo, said, “I’m scared. Seeing this, I’m wondering if I’m next.” Firefighters rescued several people from burning houses, and more than two dozen people were left homeless as the unrest spread through residential areas.

The disorder intensified around Glengormley, just outside Belfast, where police used a water cannon near the Sandyknowes roundabout after officers came under attack with bricks, bottles and other missiles and a bin was set alight. The Police Service of Northern Ireland said it had released images of people it wanted to identify in connection with serious disorder and urged people with information to come forward.

The unrest followed Monday night’s stabbing in north Belfast, after which a 30-year-old Sudanese man appeared in court charged with attempted murder and the victim, Stephen Ogilvie, was heard to have lost his left eye. Hilary Benn said 12 officers were injured and 16 people were arrested, and he called the violence “racist thuggery,” while also saying people had been stopped in cars and asked their nationality on the way to work.

Police said 200 mutual aid officers were being brought in as Chief Constable Jon Boutcher moved to harden the response and politicians tried to stop a second night of fear from becoming something more permanent. Emma Little-Pengelly said those involved were “only destroying their own communities,” and the South Eastern Trust said it was “horrified” that the nurse had been chased, warning that the unrest was already having a “profound impact” on services and on staff who felt too frightened to come to work.