Appeal Following Racially Motivated Hate Crime In Castlereagh

The PSNI have issued an appeal for information and witnesses following a racially motivated hate crime in Castlereagh on the evening of Sunday, 11 August.

At around 7.15pm, a man was walking in a park near Manse Road when he was approached by six young people, who shouted abuse and intimidated him. As the man walked away, the young people threw stones at him. Thankfully the man was not injured.

This is being treated as a racially motivated hate crime and enquiries are ongoing. Anyone who witnessed this incident is asked to contact Police on 101 and quote reference 1409 11/08/24.

Assistant Chief Constable Melanie Jones said: "Thankfully there were no other reports of any serious incidents across Northern Ireland on Sunday.

"Last night, detectives investigating an attack on a mosque in Greenwell Street in Newtownards on Saturday, 10th August, arrested a man following searches at two properties in Newtownards. He remains in police custody at this time.

"A further two men, aged 58 and 30, were charged to appear in court in connection with disorder over the last week. The 58-year-old is due to appear before Belfast Magistrates Court this morning, with the 30-year-old due before Downpatrick Magistrates Court. We now have 35 people arrested and 28 charged to court in connection with the recent disorder.

"On Sunday, we released another five images of individuals whom we would like to speak to in connection with our ongoing investigation into disorder and attacks on Police officers since Saturday 3rd August.

"20 officers have been injured since the disorder began, including one female officer sustaining severe facial injuries and another male officer with a broken leg. Assaults on our officers for doing their job is not acceptable."

Assistant Chief Constable Melanie Jones appealed to the public for information: "The various reports and incidents since last Saturday have been a disgrace and I am appealing to the public directly, do not let these criminals hide in your community. Anyone with any information should contact Police. We have set up a Major Incident Public Portal for people to submit information, images and footage.

"Photos and footage, including CCTV, mobile phone or dash cam footage, can be shared with police here.

"Our Public Order Enquiry Team will continue to review footage to attempt to identify those involved, as well as those organising and orchestrating this disorder. As with any investigative process, the Police Service will follow the evidence and present it to the Public Prosecution Service."