odespinner

Racists were on the streets of Belfast last night causing mayhem by burning vehicles, setting fire to wheelie bins and attacking the homes of ‘foreigners’ who were rescued by the emergency services

How much social media was responsible for the hundreds of masked men gathered to carry out these vicious attacks can only be estimated, but this was not an uncoordinated reaction to the knife attack by a Sudanese man who is in custody.

When did rioting become an acceptable form of protest? The knife attack was horrible and frightening. The victim suffered terrible head injuries and. but for the actions of a quick thinking member of the public, could have resulted in murder. The perpetrator was arrested and has been charged with attempted murder.

The fact that the attacker came from Sudan hardly justifies the xenophobic violence that ensued. How sad that the PSNI were able to predict the rioting and warn shopkeepers.  Most residents of Belfast are sickened by the actions of racist thugs on our streets. Bully boy tactics are all too common in parts of our city where criminal gangs deal in drugs and extortion.