Police working ‘night and day' to catch those involved in Northern Ireland riots
Police are working 'night and day' to catch those involved in rioting in Northern Ireland, a senior officer has said.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has welcomed a reduction in disorder on Saturday night following several days of sustained rioting and attacks on officers.
The force said there were 'sporadic disturbances' on Saturday which included youths throwing stones in Lurgan and an attempt to attack a vehicle in Carrickfergus.
Assistant Chief Constable Melanie Jones said: 'Our heightened presence in our local communities and continued community engagement to de-escalate violence continued last night, but thankfully, the situation was much calmer than we have seen in recent days.
'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.'
The disorder started in Ballymena on Monday after an alleged sexual assault of a girl in the town last weekend. Two 14-year-old boys, who spoke to a court through a Romanian interpreter, have been charged with attempted rape.
A peaceful protest on Monday evening about the alleged assault was followed by attacks on police and properties housing ethnic minorities.
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.
The PSNI said officers dealt with some sporadic disturbances on Saturday, including an incident of attempted criminal damage to a vehicle in Carrickfergus. A 40-year-old man has been charged over the incident and will appear in court next month,
Following a report of a group of people throwing bottles at addresses in Lurgan, two boys, aged 14 and 12, were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage before being street bailed.
Detectives investigating online posts relating to recent public disorder arrested a 32-year-old man in the Larne area on Saturday on suspicion of encouraging or assisting offences and possession of a class B controlled drug.
He remains in custody.
Ms Jones said: 'Our public order inquiry Team are working day and night to identify those who have been involved in the disorder over the last number of days.
'Our Chief Constable and other members of the senior team have been meeting with local community representatives of those affected over the weekend so we can support them as best we can and offer reassurance of our policing operation to restore calm.
'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.
'To date, we have made 24 arrests, 14 of which have resulted in individuals being charged to court.
'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.'
She added: 'Sixty-four of our colleagues have been injured and I commend their bravery and determination.
'Their unwavering efforts over the last number of days have resulted in a reduction of disorder and I hope the local communities who have been targeted have felt the support of our frontline teams.
'To come under sustained attack when you are there to serve and protect all is disheartening to say the least.
'They have been steadfast in their commitment to restore peace and I am proud of them all.'
Police have also released images of people they want to speak to in relation to the disturbances.
Ms Jones said: 'I am asking the wider community to step forward and help us.
'It is in all of our interests, and in the interests of justice, that those responsible are dealt with and I would urge anyone who may have information to bring it forward.
'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.
'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.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wales Online
2 hours ago
- Wales Online
Pair thrown into the air as man deliberately drives at them
Pair thrown into the air as man deliberately drives at them Johnathan Newbury 33, rammed Ryan Jones and a 17-year-old man with a black SUV having earlier been seen brandishing a Zombie knife Johnathan Newbury A "violent" man seriously injured two men after driving an SUV at them at speed and caused one of them grievous bodily harm. He was told by a judge he had neither "accepted guilt or shown remorse" for his actions. Johnathan Newbury, 33, rammed Ryan Jones and a 17-year-old man with a black SUV in Cardiff on July 5 last year after there had been an earlier altercation. The defendant was seen by the victims in the street having armed himself with a Zombie knife. A sentencing hearing at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Monday heard the two victims were "thrown into the air" after being hit by the vehicle and were left by a range of injuries. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter. A trial previously heard Mr Jones and the teenager had booked into the same Airbnb venue as Newbury. There had been an altercation between the victims and a number of men at the property in Bruce Street, Cathays, with threats and racial slurs thrown at Mr Jones and the teenager from a window such as: "I'll f*** you up". Jonathan aka Johnathan Newbury Article continues below They later returned to the Airbnb and spoke to a woman who warned them the men who had shouted at them earlier would "bonnet" them. At around midnight the SUV was seen on CCTV pulling into Bruce Street and four men were seen to alight from that vehicle. The men were armed with Zombie knives and were described as "intent on violence" with the victims. Mr Jones and the 17-year-old later identified Newbury as one of the men. The defendant was seen to get into the driver's seat of the SUV and followed the victims into Bruce Street with the "clear aim" of attacking them. Both Mr Jones and the 17-year-old ran away from the scene but were seen by Newbury emerging onto Crwys Road from the junction with Dogfield Street. As they crossed the junction with Malefant Street Newbury sped up and drove onto the wrong side of the road to deliberately collide with the two victims, throwing them up into the air and causing them both serious bodily injury. The defendant then drove off at speed in the direction of Llanedeyrn. Mr Jones suffered injuries to his pelvis and right foot while the 17-year-old lost consciousness and sustained injuries to his jaw, ribs, chest, and abdomen. Mr Jones identified Newbury as having been in the SUV and also said he had seen the same man on May 3 at a hospital. The prosecutor told the jury Newbury was later found to have been at the hospital on the date given. Newbury, of Wern Goch West, Roath, Cardiff, was found guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent, attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm, and possession of a bladed article. The court heard he has 20 previous convictions for offences including robbery, witness intimidation, battery, assaulting emergency workers, violent disorder, attempted robbery, affray, and threatening a person with an offensive weapon. In mitigation defence barrister Tim Montgomery said his client wasn't a "man on a mission" to commit these offences and questioned if the court could be satisfied if the defendant was the driver. Sentencing, Judge Jeremy Jenkins said: "You do not accept your guilt and you have shown no remorse at all for the offences you have been found guilty of. You are a man who has resorted to violence in the past." Newbury was sentenced to eight years imprisonment with an extended two years on licence. He will serve two-thirds of the sentence before he will be eligible for parole. The defendant was also disqualified from driving upon his release from prison. Article continues below Get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here. We occasionally treat members to special offers, promotions and ads from us and our partners. See our Privacy Notice.
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
3 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.
