What to Know About the Northern Ireland Riots as Petrol Bomb-Filled Chaos Spills Into Third Night

For the third night in a row, riots rocked the town of Ballymena in Northern Ireland on Wednesday, lasting into the early hours of Thursday morning. Protesters used petrol bombs and fireworks as they clashed with the authorities. In response, police deployed plastic baton rounds and a water cannon.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) confirmed that an additional nine officers were injured on Wednesday during the unrest. Overall, several arrests have been made and dozens of police officers injured.

Police said that across the first two nights of rioting, businesses and homes had been “attacked and damaged.” As tensions escalated, tires and bins were set alight on Wednesday evening.

In a statement addressing Wednesday’s violence, PSNI reported that officers responded to an arson attack at a leisure center in the nearby town of Larne.

“Shockingly, people were inside the building at the time of this fire—thankfully no injuries were reported—and we could have been looking at a completely different situation,” police said. 

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is facing resignation calls after a social media post about the location of migrant families who fled the riots near their homes in Ballymena and sought shelter at the leisure center.

Lyons has defended his post from Wednesday evening, telling BBC’s Good Morning Ulster: "I will very strongly hit back at any notion that I had revealed the use of this facility to the public when the protest was already planned, when everybody knew what was happening.”

A number of protests have also taken place in other towns and cities across Northern Ireland, including Belfast, Lisburn, and Newtownabbey.

In the town of Coleraine, police reported that trash cans were set alight on railway tracks at the local train station. 

Here’s what to know about the ongoing unrest in Ballymena.

What prompted the riots in Northern Ireland?

The disorder started on Monday, June 9, after a peaceful protest took place in the town of Ballymena over an alleged sexual assault that police say occurred the previous Saturday.

Earlier on Monday, two 14-year-old boys appeared at Coleraine Magistrates' Court in relation to the assault. The boys are charged with attempted oral rape. Both deny the charges.

The boys appeared via videolink from a juvenile center, and confirmed their names and ages via a Romanian translator.

Later in the day, hundreds of people—including men, women and children—peacefully protested the ongoing case in the town centre of Ballymena, raising concerns about the safety of young women and locals.

Separate riots then began in the town on Monday night, as police reported a number of “missiles” thrown at officers and properties nearby being damaged.

The authorities have referred to the escalated riots as "racially-motivated" attacks that are targeting minority ethnic communities.

Chief Superintendent Sue Steen issued a plea to the public on Monday night, saying: “We are urging everyone to remain calm and to act responsibly. Violence and disorder will only place people at greater risk.”

Police announced on Tuesday, June 10, that a third person had been arrested in connection with the sexual assault. PSNI said that the suspect was a 28-year-old man who had been “unconditionally released from police custody” after questioning.

How long are the riots expected to last?

Speaking to the BBC’s Nolan Show on Wednesday, assistant chief constable Ryan Henderson said that he expected the violence to continue “in the coming days” and urged the public to stay home on Wednesday evening.

Meanwhile, Sky News correspondent Connor Gillies, who has been in Ballymena, said on Wednesday that some families had been “barricading themselves” in their attics amid the escalating violence. "The talk here in this town is that it could go on for weeks yet," he said.

How have police responded?

In response to the first night of rioting, constable Henderson said during a press conference: “This violence was clearly racially-motivated and targeted at our minority ethnic community and the police. It was racist thuggery purely and simply, and any attempt to justify or explain it as anything else is misplaced.”

The BBC has reported that some households have put up signs signifying the ethnicity or nationality of its residents, seemingly in an effort to remain out of harm's way. One photo showed a sign above a door reading “Filipino lives here.”

Henderson appealed for “calm voices and cool heads” on Thursday after another night of disruption, which once again spread to protests in Belfast, Lisburn, and Antrim. Most of the protests in Belfast, as well as those in Lisburn and Antrim, “passed without incident,” according to the authorities.

“This criminal behaviour has no place on the streets of Northern Ireland and is completely unacceptable. What we witnessed last night has caused fear and huge disruption within our communities, including to our local transport network and community services,” Henderson said.

In a statement released on Wednesday in response to the second night of chaos, chief constable Jon Boutcher called the riots “mindless violence” and that it was "deeply concerning and utterly unacceptable."

“These criminal acts not only endanger lives but also risk undermining the ongoing criminal justice process led by the [police] in support of a victim who deserves truth, justice, and protection,” Boutcher said. “Ironically, and frustratingly, this violence threatens to derail the very pursuit of justice it claims to challenge. Let me be clear: This behaviour must stop. I appeal to everyone involved to cease all further acts of criminality and disorder immediately.”

The chief constable also thanked the police officers tasked with handling and responding to the riots, adding that he believes the PSNI is “critically underfunded.”

“Despite operating under immense financial pressure—far greater than that faced by other public services in Northern Ireland or police forces across the UK and in the Republic of Ireland—our officers continue to display unwavering professionalism, courage, and resolve,” said Boutcher.

What have politicians said about the riots? 

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer addressed the riots during Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

“I utterly condemn the violence that we’ve seen overnight in Ballymena and in other parts of Northern Ireland,” he said. “It is absolutely vital that PSNI are given the time they need to investigate the incidents concerned rather than face mindless attacks as they seek to bring peace and order to keep people safe.”

Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said: “This is not what Northern Ireland is about, this is not what we want the rest of the world to see,” on BBC’s Good Morning Ulster on Thursday. “Whatever views people hold, there is no justification for trying to burn people out of their homes, that is what is going on, and that is what needs to stop because it is shocking and damaging.”

Irish Tánaiste [Deputy Prime Minister] Simon Harris has also condemned the rioting. "The scenes of violence over the last two nights in Ballymena are deeply disturbing. The strong collective calls for the violence and disorder to end immediately must be heeded. There can be no justification for attacks such as these on people’s homes or on the police,” he said on Wednesday.

Michelle O’Neill, Northern Ireland’s First Minister, has called for an immediate end to “the racist and sectarian attacks on families across the North and the rioting in Ballymena.”

Speaking out via social media on Wednesday morning, she said: “No one, now or ever, should feel the need to place a sticker on their door to identify their ethnicity just to avoid being targeted.”

Leader of the Northern Irish Unionist Ulster Party Mike Nesbitt, who also serves as Health Minister, said: “There is no justification for this mayhem, and my thoughts are with those who have lost their homes and the greater number who are feeling intimidated and unwelcome. I understand there are community concerns regarding an alleged serious sexual assault. There are legitimate ways to express those concerns. Street violence is not one of them.”

Sinn Féin MP (Member of Parliament) John Finucane has condemned the attacks.

“The racist attacks on a number of homes near the Ballysillan area last night were abhorrent, and my thoughts are with those families affected. Sickening behaviour such as this has no place in our society,” Finucane said in a statement shared via social media on Wednesday morning. “I will be contacting the families affected to ensure they receive the support they need in the time ahead. Racism, wherever it occurs, must be stamped out and faced down through strong leadership in our communities.”