LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s administration urged restraint Tuesday following law enforcement’s announcement that they had detained a Sudanese individual in connection with a knife attack in a Belfast neighborhood that gained widespread attention due to disturbing footage circulating on social media.
Authorities reported that the injured party, a male in his 40s, was transported to a medical facility with severe wounds to his eyes, face and back during Monday evening hours. The detained individual, described as being in his 30s, faces charges of attempted murder and remains held by police. Investigators recovered a kitchen knife from the location.
Law enforcement officials are working to establish what motivated the attack, though no evidence points to terrorist connections, according to Ryan Henderson, assistant chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. He noted that investigators are not looking for additional suspects in the case.
“This brutal attack will have sent shock waves through the community, causing real concern,” he said.
Gavin Robinson, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, told Parliament that the perpetrator was living in the U.K. under a five-year visa and urged authorities to curb “uncontrolled immigration.”
Authorities believe the detained person had received authorization to stay in the nation and resided close to where the incident occurred, Henderson explained. He refused to share additional information while the investigation continues.
When questioned in Parliament, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said he could not confirm whether the alleged attacker came to the U.K. illegally.
Starmer condemned the attack as “sickening” and said that he had “no tolerance for abhorrent scenes of violence like this on our streets.”
His office said “it is time for calm,” adding “it’s important that police have the time and space to investigate appropriately.”
Law enforcement and government leaders asked the public to avoid sharing disturbing footage of the incident found on internet platforms and to refrain from spreading false information about the circumstances.
Last week a separate case of a university student who was stabbed to death in Southampton, England in December was seized on by activists and U.S. Vice President JD Vance who blamed immigration for the violence.
Henry Nowak, who was white, was killed by Vickrum Digwa, a Sikh who falsely claimed to police that he was the victim of a racist assault by Nowak. When police officers arrived, they initially treated the wounded Nowak as a suspect before noticing his injury and trying to resuscitate him.
Digwa was convicted of murder for stabbing Nowak with a Sikh dagger and sentenced last week to life in prison with a minimum 21-year term. But the case has spurred heated debates about policing and race, and a protest over Nowak’s death turned violent with some attacking police with chairs and rocks. Several people were charged with violent disorder over the protest.
