A Sudanese immigrant was arrested after a video showed him trying to behead a man in the middle of a Belfast street in the United Kingdom, drawing national outrage.
Police were called at around 10:30 p.m. local time on Monday. A graphic video posted on social media showed the suspect, estimated to be in his 30s, straddling a man in his 40s pinned on the ground, whose face was covered in blood. The attacker was brandishing a knife and shouting, and after warnings from bystanders, proceeded to start sawing the struggling victim’s neck. At least three bystanders intervened to save the victim’s life, with one hitting the attacker over the head with a shovel.
The police intervened as the scuffle was taking place and arrested the attacker. They initially reported the attacker was Somali, but later corrected to Sudanese.
Despite extensive injuries to the eyes, face, neck, and back, the victim survived and was rushed to a hospital. The attacker is being charged with attempted murder.
Police Service of Northern Ireland Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said at a press conference that the attacker was believed to have acted alone, and the incident is not being treated as a terrorist attack.
“I share the public’s revulsion over the brutal nature of this attack, which has created concern not only here in Northern Ireland but much further afield, and I understand also that there will be questions regarding the nature of the attack,” he said, while adding the investigation was still in its early stages. “Throughout today, we have been liaising with senior counterterrorism partners. At this stage, we have no information to suggest that this was a terrorist-related incident.”
Henderson then urged people not to share the video of the attack, saying it could “risk causing further trauma to the injured man’s loved ones, and may impact upon the ongoing investigation.”
Unionist Minister of Parliament Gavin Robinson, representing part of Belfast, used parliamentary privilege to claim the attacker was living in the U.K. under a five-year visa, and had entered from Ireland under the Common Travel Area.
“Having abused the privilege of our nation, the perpetrator, living in the UK under a five-year visa, needs to be convicted and deported on the first flight out on a one-way ticket,” he told the House of Commons on Tuesday.
The attack came at a time of unsurpassed tension in the U.K. around immigration and race. The government and police are still weathering attacks over their response to the murder of white university student Henry Nowak, who died in the custody of police after a Sikh man stabbed him with a ceremonial blade and accused him of racism.
Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage, who has led attacks on the police and government handling of issues such as immigration and race, led the charge in demanding answers around the Monday night attack.
“What happened in Belfast last night is horrific,” Farage said in a post on X. “The authorities must reveal the identity and status of the attacker immediately. The public are entitled to the truth.”
He reposted a message from Reform UK Shadow Home Secretary Zia Yusuf, who directly blamed the ruling Labour Party and Conservative Party for the violence.
“The horror of what you have seen in Belfast is a direct result of treacherous Tory and Labour immigration policy,” Yusuf said. “Reform has already announced a TOTAL BAN ON VISAS FOR ANYONE FROM SUDAN. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!”
Rupert Lowe, the leader of the Restore Britain Party, which splintered from Reform, called for investigations into the officials responsible for allowing the suspect into the country.
“A Restore Britain Government will aim to prosecute officials and politicians who knowingly placed dangerous third world savages in our communities,” Lowe declared, saying in another post that “millions and millions” would need to be deported or made to leave the U.K. “This will apply retrospectively. A great number of people will go to prison for what has been inflicted on our communities.”
Prime Minister Kier Starmer was quick to address the attack, saying the “horrific” attack was “sickening” on Tuesday.
“I have absolutely no tolerance for abhorrent scenes of violence like this on our streets,” he said. “My thoughts are first and foremost with the victim, and I thank the first responders, including members of the public who intervened.”
As with his previous statements on matters of crime and immigration, the prime minister was thrashed on X, with viral criticism accusing him of facilitating the crime.
The Labour Party’s response was further skewered when a video of Traditional Unionist Voice MP Jim Allister questioning Labour Northern Ireland Secretary of State Hilary Ben over the attack went viral. Allister asked, “What will be done to stop the importation of an alien culture that thinks it’s appropriate to try and behead someone?”
Ben responded by taking offense with his terminology.
“I’m sorry the honourable gentleman used the term ‘alien culture’, because what exactly is he referring to?” he said.
One area of commonality among most observers was praise for the Belfast man who set upon the attacker with a shovel, helping to save the victim’s life.
“The attempted murder in Belfast last night was chilling. … It was medieval,” Robinson said. “The systematic mutilation and attempted slaughter of a citizen of Belfast on our streets. I praise the brave man who with a hurl in his hand intervened to save his neighbor’s life.”
X CEO Elon Musk, who has taken a close interest in U.K. politics in recent years, quoted Lowe’s first response to the attack, simply saying, “Enough.”
Nationwide protests were announced soon after, scheduled to take place on Tuesday night. The police acknowledged the prospect, with Henderson urging calm and saying they were monitoring the planned movements.
STARMER TO MEET WITH FAMILY OF HENRY NOWAK AFTER BLAMING MUSK FOR UNREST
Lowe urged protesters to demonstrate “loudly, but peacefully,” arguing that violence would “give Starmer what he wants.”
Protests around the murder of Nowak escalated into riots in some areas, with protesters hurling bricks, bottles, flares, and trash bins at police.