Police urge calm after Belfast knife attack sparks online fury

A knife attack on Kinnaird Avenue in north Belfast left a man in his 40s seriously injured and set off a wave of online fury before police had finished explaining what had happened. Graphic video of the assault and its aftermath spread quickly, feeding calls for protests and sharpening tensions in a city still sensitive to unrest.

Police said the victim suffered slash wounds to the face, neck, back and eyes and was treated at the Royal Victoria Hospital. The Police Service of Northern Ireland later said it was treating the case as attempted murder, not terrorism, and that investigators had found no indication of a terrorist motive at that stage. The stabbing happened at about 10:30 p.m. on Monday, June 8, and the initial police appeal for calm came the next day as speculation circulated online.

Officers arrested a 30-year-old Sudanese man and later charged him with attempted murder, possession of an article with blade or point in a public place, and threats to kill. He was due to appear in court on June 10. Police said he had travelled from Sudan to Paris, then to Dublin, before taking a bus from Dublin to Belfast on February 10, 2023. He claimed asylum the same day he arrived in Northern Ireland and was granted leave to remain in September 2023, with the Home Office saying that leave was valid until 2028. Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said the suspect was not known to police and did not appear on PSNI crime databases.

The public reaction quickly became part of the story. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the attack “sickening” after the footage spread widely on social media, while Northern Ireland justice minister Naomi Long and cross-community leaders urged restraint. Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said police were increasing their presence to reassure communities, including minority communities, and to facilitate peaceful protest rather than disorder. Officers warned against any repeat of the anti-immigrant rioting seen in Ballymena in June 2025, when anger over alleged assaults involving Romanian youths spilled into violence and damaged homes and businesses.