Belfast disorder: Police take two-month-old baby to safety during night of violence

Belfast disorder: Police take two-month-old baby to safety during night of violence Anti-immigration protesters set fire to vehicles and properties, forcing some people to flee their homes 10:18, 10 Jun 2026 Updated 10:24, 10 Jun 2026 A two-month-old baby was rescued from its home and taken to safety by police during riots in Belfast last night. PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said his officers rescued numerous families on Tuesday night, including the baby, as violent disorder broke out across the city following a knife attack. A man is in a serious condition in hospital following the incident on Monday evening in the Kinnaird Avenue area. A 30-year-old Sudanese man who was given leave to remain in the UK until 2028 was charged with attempted murder and will appear in court later on Wednesday. Disorder erupted in the city on Tuesday, with anti-immigration protesters setting fire to vehicles and properties, forcing some people to flee their homes. Speaking to BBC’s Good Morning Ulster on Wednesday, Mr Boutcher said the disorder was a “huge act of self-harm by mindless idiots who are actually only damaging their own futures”. Mr Boutcher said he was “incredibly concerned” that violent disorder would continue, adding there was “absolutely no excuse” for the “vile behaviour”. He said the PSNI, ambulance service and fire service were “giants” as he thanked them for their response. Mr Boutcher said the disorder was an “insult” to the man injured in the knife attack and “those brave members of the community who actually intervened to save a man’s life”. He told BBC radio: “That should be the story from this incident – not the deploring scenes that we saw last night.” The chief constable also defended its release of information relating to a knife attack in Belfast . Jon Boutcher was responding to concerns on the same programme raised by Tura Arutura, from the African Arts Collective, on BBC’s Good Morning Ulster, who said the police initially put out misleading information. Mr Boutcher said: “I understand the concerns Tura expressed there, but we have learned that if we don’t give information, then online misinformation and lies lead to people believing things that aren’t true and start to mindlessly conduct attacks – and that was what happened at Southport not that long ago.” On the initial information from the PSNI that the suspect was from Somalia rather than Sudan, he said: “We said we ‘believe’ that because that was the information that we were given after the incident occurred and we’re always going to get more detailed information as time passes by. “I was pushing very directly with the Home Office to give us the information that we required so that we could comply with the lessons learned previously.” The chief constable said the policing response to disorder was about protecting life and involved reaching out to ethnic minorities. Article continues below “Last night we rescued so many families, taking a baby as young as two months out their address to safety.” For all the latest news, visit the homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.