Police warn of further arrests as 28 held over violent race riots in Northern Ireland
A 13-year-old girl is among those charged with rioting following week long disorder in Northern Ireland last week.
Five further arrests have been made by police investigating the riots.
The disorder started in Ballymena on Monday after an alleged sexual assault of a girl in the town last weekend.Two 14-year-old Romanian boys have been charged with attempted rape.
Hundreds attend anti-racism rally after week of violence
A peaceful protest on Monday evening about the alleged assault was followed by attacks on police and properties housing ethnic minorities.
Police have said the latest arrests include a 25-year-old man who has been detained in connection with an arson attack on Larne Leisure Centre, and a 13-year-old girl who has been charged with rioting in Ballymena.
The leisure centre was significantly damaged following an incident in Larne last Wednesday.The 25-year-old man was arrested following the search of a house in Larne at the weekend on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life.The PSNI described the scenes as 'racist thuggery'. The disturbances in the Co Antrim town continued for several nights and spread to other areas of Northern Ireland including Portadown, Larne, Belfast, Carrickfergus, Londonderry and Coleraine.By Monday morning police said 28 arrests have been made in relation to the disorder, and they expect to make further arrests in the coming days and weeks.Four people were due to appear before court on Monday, including a 13-year-old girl charged with rioting by officers investigating disorder in Ballymena on Wednesday June 11.A 40-year-old man was charged with riot following the first night of the disorder in Ballymena on Monday June 9, and a 33-year-old woman has been charged with child cruelty relating to the disorder.Detectives investigating online posts relating to recent public disorder have charged a 32-year-old man to court.He has been charged with sending menacing messages through a public electronic communications network and with encouraging or assisting offences believing one or more will be committed.He is further charged with possession of a class B controlled drug, and was due to appear before Coleraine Magistrates' Court on Monday.Meanwhile, graffiti in Bangor and on an unoccupied house in Chadwick Street in south Belfast are being investigated as racially motivated hate crimes, and at Brompton Park in Ardoyne, around 30 youths set a wheelie bin on fire.Assistant Chief Constable Melanie Jones said 64 police officers were injured during the disorder, but said the situation is now much calmer.'Our heightened presence in our local communities and continued community engagement to de-escalate violence continued last night… thankfully, similar to Saturday, the situation was much calmer,' she said.'I issued a public plea to parent/guardians and families of young people who have been driving the criminal activity in some areas to warn them of the serious consequences of their actions.'I am asking for continued conversations amongst local families to deter young people from criminalising themselves.'Ms Jones said the chief constable Jon Boutcher and other senior members of the PSNI have been meeting with local community representatives of those affected over the weekend.'Everyone deserves to feel safe on our streets. So, just as we will seek justice for women and girls who report heinous crimes to us, we will also seek justice for local innocent families who are being targeted by criminality fuelled by hate,' she said.'We will continue to robustly investigate the disorder over the last number of days but do not want to see any more young people criminalised by being caught up in this activity.'Thankfully, none of our officers policing this disorder reported being injured on duty last night. We have 64 of our colleagues currently recovering from injury and I commend their bravery and unwavering efforts.'She also reiterated an appeal for information around images released by police of a number of individuals they wish to interview.'If you are able to identify any of the people shown in these images or can provide information about them you should contact us on 101 or on our major incident portal, which is accessible on our website,' she said.'I would also like to reassure the communities that we serve that we will continue to maintain our presence and protect streets.'We are grateful for the support of all who condemn this criminality and would, once more, repeat our appeal for calm across Northern Ireland in the coming days.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News
16 minutes ago
- Sky News
Girl, 13, charged with rioting over Ballymena disorder
A 13-year-old girl has been charged with rioting over disorder that broke out in Northern Ireland last week. Ballymena and other nearby areas saw five consecutive nights of violence after an alleged sexual assault of a girl in the County Antrim town. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said five more people have been arrested in connection with the disorder - bringing the total number to 29. The latest arrests include the 13-year-old girl who has been charged with rioting over the third night of disorder in Ballymena last Wednesday. A 33-year-old woman has also been charged with child cruelty relating to the disorder. A 25-year-old man has been detained in connection with an arson attack on Larne Leisure Centre, which was significantly damaged. He was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life. A 40-year-old man has been charged with rioting on 9 June - the first night of disorder. Meanwhile, a 32-year-old man has been charged with sending menacing messages through a public electronic communications network, and with encouraging or assisting offences, believing one or more will be committed. He was further charged with possession of a Class B controlled drug. The violent disorder began in Ballymena last Monday following a peaceful protest supporting the family of a girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted in the area. 1:25 Two 14-year-old boys, who spoke to a court through a Romanian interpreter, have been charged with attempted rape. The disturbances continued for several nights and spread to other areas of Northern Ireland including Portadown, Larne, Belfast, Carrickfergus, Londonderry and Coleraine. Assistant Chief Constable Melanie Jones said "thankfully, similar to Saturday, the situation was much calmer" in Northern Ireland on Sunday night.
STV News
3 hours ago
- STV News
'Intimidating' mixed martial arts fighter convicted of raping two woman
A mixed martial arts fighter has been convicted of raping two women. Octavian Moasea, 32, preyed on the females, who cannot be named for legal reasons, at locations in Glasgow and Glenrothes, Fife, between November 2020 and January 2022. The High Court in Edinburgh heard how Moasea told one of the women that he had taken part in MMA bouts – and she told jurors of how she was scared of him because of his background as a fighter. The story emerged after the Romanian citizen, who lives in Perth, was found guilty on Monday afternoon on two charges of rape and two charges of threatening behaviour. He had spent proceedings denying any wrongdoing. But jurors convicted him after spending time deliberating their verdicts. On Monday, judge Olga Pasportnikov remanded Moasea in custody ahead of a sentencing hearing next month. She told the accused: 'Bail will be revoked and sentence will be deferred for the preparation of a criminal justice social work report.' During proceedings, one of Moasea's victims told the court of how she was intimidated by him during his attacks on her which took place in Glasgow. She said: 'I was physically weaker than he was. I was absolutely scared of him. I knew what he was capable of. 'He was a mixed martial arts fighter – he was very proud of his fights. 'He showed me clips of him fighting as well. He would describe what he was doing in the gym. 'He told me what holds he could do.' She told the court of how Moasea raped her. The court also heard evidence of how Moasea also targeted a second woman in Fife. He was eventually brought to justice after police learned about his activities. Detectives launched an investigation and gathered enough evidence to bring him to court to face proceedings. Following the verdict, it emerged that Moasea had previous convictions – he has served a ten-month prison sentence in Germany on a charge which was described as a 'false imprisonment' and 'grievous bodily harm' offence. Defence advocate Simon Gilbride said he'd reserve his mitigation for the sentencing hearing next month. He added: 'There's nothing I can usefully add at this stage.' Moasea will next appear in court on July 28, 2025 at the High Court in Edinburgh when he will be sentenced by judge Pasportnikov. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
BBC News
4 hours ago
- BBC News
NI riots: Ballymena school absence rates spike in the wake of violence
The rate of pupils missing school has spiked near to where people rioted for several nights in Ballymena, the education minister has said. Paul Givan said 84 new pupils at Harryville Primary School have not been attending class since and only 65% of pupils at St Patrick's have been in who was answering questions in the Northern Ireland Assembly on Monday, said it is "outrageous" that over the last week children have been traumatised as a result of what has been also said "alarmingly we're also dealing with some children who engaged in the rioting and attacked some of the houses of the very children in their class". "So this is an appalling situation, one which is complicated and requires intervention," he added. There were several nights of violence in towns across Northern Ireland last week, after rioting first broke out in Ballymena, County Antrim, last came after a peaceful protest over an alleged sexual assault in the that day, two teenage boys appeared in court accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl. They spoke through an interpreter in Romanian to confirm their names and the peaceful protest, rioting broke out that was later described by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) as "racist thuggery". Violence also erupted in other towns, including Larne, Londonderry, Belfast and Portadown, on subsequent PSNI have said 29 people have been arrested with 21 charged. In total, 64 police officers have been injured. Givan was speaking in the assembly in response to a question from the Leader of the Opposition, the Social Democratic and Labour Party's (SDLP's) Matthew O'Toole, who asked what was being done for children caught up in the said it was alarming that there were cases in which some children were rioting and attacking the houses of classmates. Givan said his department is engaged with a "number of schools", the "emotional wellbeing unit within the Education Authority" and "intercultural services to try and provide support". He told the assembly both Harryville Primary School and St Patrick's in Ballymena have seen absence rates spike. Givan added that this was a "clear problem" that was complicated by the fact that children in both schools were both engaged in the disorder and also the victims of it. "It's one that does require concerted effort," he said, telling O'Toole that he and his team were engaged in trying to provide that support. "I take a very simple view," he said."There is a time and a place to debate immigration policy, but whenever you are in Northern Ireland, and particularly whenever you are a child in Northern Ireland from whatever background, you have to be treated with respect, you have to be supported and you need to be protected."That has not been the case over the past week, and that is wrong, and I absolutely condemn what has happened in respect of these particular issues." Givan said he will do "all that I can" to support children in Northern Ireland that need that support.
