A second night of rioting has left 17 police officers injured and caused damage to several homes, businesses and vehicles in Ballymena in Northern Ireland.
A crowd launched a “sustained attack” on officers on Tuesday night by hurling petrol bombs, masonry and fireworks in the County Antrim town, a police spokesperson said.
They added: “Businesses and homes were attacked and damaged and a number of vehicles were also set on fire in the area. Seventeen officers were injured with some requiring required hospital treatment.”
Five people were arrested on suspicion of riotous behaviour.
Disturbances erupted on Monday night – when 15 officers were injured – after a vigil for a teenage girl allegedly sexually assaulted by two 14-year-old boys. The boys had appeared in court earlier that day charged with attempted rape, where a Romanian interpreter read them the charges.
Police said the unrest turned into racially motivated attacks on foreigners that left families cowering in their homes as mobs broke windows and tried to set fire to curtains. Police fired plastic baton rounds and used water cannon to try to disperse the crowds on Tuesday.
Jon Boutcher, the Police Service of Northern Ireland chief constable, said the “mindless violence” was deeply concerning and unacceptable. “These criminal acts not only endanger lives but also risk undermining the ongoing criminal justice process led by the PSNI in support of a victim who deserves truth, justice, and protection. Ironically, and frustratingly, this violence threatens to derail the very pursuit of justice it claims to challenge.”
Boutcher appealed for an immediate end to criminality and disorder. “As with any serious offenders in Northern Ireland, we will pursue those responsible and bring them to justice. We will now begin our investigation of reviewing all evidence gathered, including video footage, and images of the individuals involved will be released to identify offenders. Do not throw away your future and do not continue to endanger or intimidate the lives of others.”
Smaller protests took place on Tuesday night in Lisburn, Coleraine, Newtownabbey, Carrickfergus and Belfast.
Reinforcements would be sought from Wales and England if necessary, police said. A Downing Street spokesperson condemned the violence and appealed for calm, as have politicians across Northern Ireland.
The Northern Ireland secretary, Hilary Benn, said on X: “The terrible scenes of civil disorder we have witnessed in Ballymena again this evening have no place in Northern Ireland.”
