Northern Ireland police said on Tuesday they had arrested a man following a “stabbing incident” in Belfast, with graphic online video prompting widespread condemnation and protest calls from UK far-right figures.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said the arrested man was in his 30s, believed to be Somalian, and had been detained on suspicion of attempted murder following the “serious assault involving a knife.”
The force said a man in his 40s was in hospital with serious injuries to his face, neck and back following the incident shortly after 10:30 pm on Monday.
It comes amid heightened tensions in the UK following violent skirmishes last week in Southampton over the police handling of the December murder of a young white student stabbed to death by a British Sikh man.
PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said the force had declared Monday’s “deeply concerning assault” a “critical incident.”
“We have commenced an investigation to establish a motive,” he added, noting “this brutal attack will have sent shockwaves through the community causing real concern.”
“I want to reassure the local community that we are treating this attack with the utmost seriousness. Our investigation is continuing at pace.”
Video posted to social media shows a man stabbing another man several times in the head with a knife in what appears to be an attempted beheading.
Local media reported police had recovered a knife from the scene on the street, in the New Lodge area of the Northern Irish capital.
The PSNI has appealed for “anyone who witnessed this incident, or who may have captured dash-cam or CCTV (security camera) footage from the area which could help with their investigation” to get in touch.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the attack “horrific” and “sickening.”
“I have absolutely no tolerance for abhorrent scenes of violence like this on our streets,” he said on X.
PSNI officers on an empty street in Ballymena, 11 June, 2025 – AP Photo
“My thoughts are first and foremost with the victim, and I thank the first responders, including members of the public who intervened.”
Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill branded the incident “harrowing” while urging people “to give the PSNI the space it needs to carry out a full investigation so that justice can be done.”
But leading far-right figures in the UK, including anti-immigration activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who is also known as Tommy Robinson, shared the graphic video of the attack on social media and demanded immediate protests.
