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Stephen Ogilvie, a man in his 40s originally from Scotland, was brutally attacked with a knife by a 30-year-old Sudanese asylum seeker on Kinnaird Avenue in Belfast. The suspect, who had arrived in the UK in 2023 and was granted refugee status until 2028, was arrested and charged with attempted murder. Graphic footage of the attack circulated online, showing the suspect standing over the victim and making a sawing motion with the knife. The victim suffered significant injuries to his face, neck, and back and remains in critical condition. The incident has sparked public outrage and debate over immigration and border control, with political figures calling for transparency. Police confirmed there is no evidence suggesting the attack is terrorism-related.
The man pinned down on a Belfast street by an asylum seeker who brutally attacked him with a knife has been named by residents as Stephen Ogilvie.
The alleged attacker, a 30-year-old Sudanese man, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder on Monday night and charged on Tuesday evening after Mr Ogilvie, in his 40s, suffered 'significant injuries' to his face, neck and back during the stabbing. Details of the horrific assault, which took place on Kinnaird Avenue in northern Belfast at around 10.30pm, were released after graphic footage of the attack was shared online.
The footage shows a man standing astride a bloodied victim, holding a knife to his throat and his fist in the air. As onlookers screamed, he then started making a sawing motion as witnesses said: 'He's trying to cut his head off.
' Police said a kitchen knife was recovered from the scene. Mr Ogilvie is understood to be originally from Scotland and had been living in the same block of flats as his Sudanese-born attacker. One woman told the Daily Mail: 'He's a vulnerable person, apparently. He lives in the same flats as the man who attacked him.
'There's a lot of information swirling around as to what happened. Nobody knows for sure why Stephen was attacked.
' A man who lives near the flats said: 'I saw all the police and the ambulance outside the flats. The man pinned down on a Belfast street by an asylum seeker who brutally attacked him with a knife has been named by residents as Stephen Ogilvie The alleged attacker, a 30-year-old Sudanese man, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder on Monday night and charged on Tuesday evening after Mr Ogilvie, in his 40s, suffered 'significant injuries' to his face, neck and back during the stabbing 'The paramedics were talking to Stephen as they were treating him.
I heard them call him by his name as he was helped into the ambulance.
'I've seen him around. He's originally from Scotland and has been living in the flats for a few years. He's a vulnerable person, and some of his neighbours look out for him.
'The Sudanese guy who police have arrested also lived in the block, apparently. He'd not been living there long, maybe a week or so. He'd only just been moved there. It's all social housing.
' On Tuesday, Jon Boutcher, the chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland , said the alleged attacker was believed to have travelled from Sudan to Paris and then to Dublin before taking a bus to Belfast in February 2023. Read More Belfast burns as protesters vow to 'get the foreigners out' after 'asylum seeker knife attack' He then claimed asylum in the city and was given leave to remain in the UK until September of the same year.
DUP leader and East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson told the Commons today that the suspect was in the UK under a five-year visa. The Home Office has since confirmed the suspect was granted refugee status after arriving in the UK and was granted leave to remain until 2028. He is due to appear in court in Belfast on Wednesday, the PSNI said, following the attack.
Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said he did not know the answer to the 'legitimate question' of how he arrived here. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: 'Last night's brutal in Belfast is appalling.
'The Government must ensure full details about the suspect's nationality... and immigration status are released. 'Total transparency is required. If it turns out this man is an illegal immigrant, it would provide further evidence that the Government's lack of border control is endangering the public.
' Lendrick Street in east Belfast is engulfed in flames, with multiple cars and at least one house ablaze Another shot of Lendrick Street in Belfast, where one of the flaming cars has been turned on its side During Monday night's attack, footage showed bystanders intervening, including a man with a hurling stick who hit the suspect while others helped to subdue the man. Mr Ogilvie was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries to his face, neck and back, and is said to be in a 'critical' condition.
Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson, of the PSNI, told journalists that the victim suffered significant injuries to his eyes and serious slash wounds to his back and face after being attacked with a kitchen knife.
'My understanding is that the individual came into Northern Ireland from Dublin, moving up, and then was granted leave to remain,' he said. 'I share the public 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 added.
There is nothing to suggest at this stage that the attack is terrorism-related, he said, and he went on to urge members of the public to be 'very mindful of what they share online' after graphic footage of the attack was posted. Following the attack, Belfast has erupted in flames as houses and buses were torched by furious protesters responding to the incident - defying government ministers' calls for calm.
Ugly scenes broke out on the streets of the Northern Irish capital, with masked men clashing with police, and reports of a group kicking in doors to 'get the foreigners out'. Fires have been set across Belfast and continued to burn as night fell, with the city's fire crews scrambling to several incidents, and the police force closing streets.
Locals were evacuated from Lendrick Street in east Belfast, with footage from the scene showing flames leaping from at least one property. Fire crews rushed to fires across the city as vehicles and piles of rubble were torched Hundreds of masked men defied government ministers to take to the streets A young man smiles at the camera in front of a burning barricade on Duncairn Gardens Dramatic scenes came after protesters torched a Glider bus on the Newtownards Road, soon after crowds first began to gather.
The crowd appeared to have pushed a flaming bin towards the vehicle, and photographs show it entirely burnt out. In the Lower Newtownards Road area in east Belfast, around 100 masked men made their way down the street, kicking in doors and smashing windows, saying they were 'getting the foreigners out', the BBC reported. Police vehicles have come under attack in some areas of the city from protesters hurling bricks and other projectiles.
Northern Ireland’s deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly has appealed for calm, writing on social media: 'I know all are horrified about what has happened. I know so many are angry, and there are those who want to register a protest.
'This is an appeal to act in an entirely peaceful way. Violence does not advance any cause; it damages it. Destroying things within your own community benefits no one.
'Taking frustration at the evil actions of a person out on those who had no part in it is utterly wrong. '
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