{"id":30893,"date":"2025-06-12T23:13:45","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T23:13:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/masonry-thrown-at-police-in-fourth-night-of-ni-disorder\/"},"modified":"2025-06-12T23:13:45","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T23:13:45","slug":"masonry-thrown-at-police-in-fourth-night-of-ni-disorder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/masonry-thrown-at-police-in-fourth-night-of-ni-disorder\/","title":{"rendered":"Masonry thrown at police in fourth night of NI disorder"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Catherine Doyle<\/span><\/p>\n

BBC News NI<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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There was disorder in Northern Ireland for the fourth night in a row but at a lower level than seen earlier this week.<\/p>\n

In Portadown, County Armagh, on Thursday a crowd pulled bricks and masonry from a derelict building which they threw at police.<\/p>\n

During the first three days of violence<\/a>, which began in Ballymena, 41 officers were injured. Fifteen people have been arrested so far.<\/p>\n

The disorder started on Monday<\/a> after a peaceful protest over an alleged sexual assault in the County Antrim town.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In Portadown, police put out a warning on loudspeakers that they would fire baton rounds if the crowd did not disperse.<\/p>\n

There was a heavy police presence in the centre of Portadown where around 400 protesters gathered on Thursday evening.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Police extinguished a fire in Portadown on Thursday night <\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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More than 20 police vehicles were parked along the main street and officers in riot gear blocked a number of roads.<\/p>\n

There was a peaceful protest earlier in the town but some disturbances developed, with masonry, including an empty beer keg, being thrown at police.<\/p>\n

A police helicopter also hovered over the town centre and officers had to extinguish a number of fires.<\/p>\n

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MLA Jonathan Buckley called for “calm”.<\/p>\n

He said: “Nobody wants to see violence on our streets no matter where they come from in Northern Ireland. The scenes over the past few days have been disturbing.”<\/p>\n

Earlier, a housing association warned its residents to leave their homes and take measures to protect their properties ahead of the protest.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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There was a heavy police presence in the centre of Portadown<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Meanwhile in Ballymena, there was also a police presence, mainly in the Clonavon Terrace area, with a number of landrovers parked at locations where there had previously been trouble.<\/p>\n

However, after three nights of violent disorder, the rioters stayed away.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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An anti-racism protest in west Belfast<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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On Thursday evening, around 100 people turned up at an anti-racism protest in west Belfast. Members of the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance (NIPSA) trade union and representatives from People Before Profit addressed the crowd.<\/p>\n

Also there, were a number of people wearing black face coverings.<\/p>\n

It passed off peacefully.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

‘Families hid in attics’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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In a press conference on Thursday afternoon, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable said families hid in attics and wardrobes during violent disorder in Ballymena this week. <\/p>\n

Jon Boutcher described the violence as “racist”, adding “the people who are threatening families who are different to them – that is racism”.<\/p>\n

Mr Boutcher said after a peaceful protest was “hijacked” on Monday evening, police and the fire service had to help families “who have done nothing wrong”.<\/p>\n

He added that: “We stand absolutely shoulder to shoulder with the diverse communities in Northern Ireland. <\/p>\n

“These bigots and racists will not win the day.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Chief Constable Jon Boutcher says “Don’t come out onto the streets tonight”<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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The first protest was organised hours after two teenage boys appeared before Coleraine Magistrates’ Court.<\/p>\n

They spoke through an interpreter in Romanian to confirm their names and ages. Their solicitor said they would be denying the charges.<\/p>\n

Mr Boutcher said in addition to the two teenagers who have been arrested and charged, there was “a third suspect who is currently outside the jurisdiction”. <\/p>\n

“We will be bringing him back into the jurisdiction,” he added. <\/p>\n

Mr Boutcher said the family of the young girl wanted the violence to stop.<\/p>\n

“She’s been further traumatised by what has happened over the last three nights,” he said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Police have described the disorder as “racist thuggery, pure and simple”<\/a> and targeted at ethnic minorities and law enforcement.<\/p>\n

Over the three days in Ballymena, police officers came under sustained attack with petrol bombs, heavy masonry, bricks and fireworks thrown in their direction.<\/p>\n

Mr Boutcher called on those involved to stop and warned there would be prosecutions. <\/p>\n

“Don’t come out onto the streets tonight. If you do we will police you, and we will deal with you through the criminal justice system.<\/p>\n

“We’ll be releasing images of those responsible. We will be going after them.”<\/p>\n

He said that three young people were in court in Ballymena on Thursday and remanded into custody for “these disturbances”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Jody Esguerra has been helping others find somewhere safe to stay<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Jody Esguerra is an outreach worker for the Filipino community and has been helping others find somewhere safe to stay.<\/p>\n

He said he received reports of a family that was “stuck inside” their home with “mobs and protesters” trying to enter, while “smashing the windows and throwing projectiles”.<\/p>\n

“They’re scared for their lives”, he said, and added that they don’t feel “welcome” anymore.<\/p>\n

He said the family “didn’t expect any of this to happen”.<\/p>\n

They were woken up by “loud noises” and realised people were “throwing rocks at their door\u2026 and all tried to hide”.<\/p>\n

The Social Democrat and Labour Party (SDLP) leader Claire Hanna described the scenes in Ballymena over the past few days as “dystopian”. <\/p>\n

“It was one of the most disturbing things I’ve seen in this very, very challenged place,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Policing Board Chair Mukesh Sharma says “This violence needs to stop before a life is lost or serious injuries sustained”<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Mukesh Sharma, the chair of the Northern Ireland Policing Board, said: “This violence is racism \u2013 pure and simple.”<\/p>\n

He said: “It is hard to find the words to describe the scenes of vitriol and hatred on our streets,” adding that it is “mindless violence that is simply wrecking communities”.<\/p>\n

“This violence needs to stop before a life is lost or serious injuries sustained.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Watch: Leisure centre set on fire in third night of violence in Northern Ireland<\/figcaption><\/p>\n
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On Wednesday, the PSNI confirmed that a significant number of extra police officers were being deployed into areas affected.<\/p>\n

Police Scotland has agreed<\/a> to send officers, after police in Northern Ireland requested extra support under mutual aid arrangements.<\/p>\n

In Larne, masked youths attacked a leisure centre<\/a> and set it on fire on Wednesday. <\/p>\n

The centre had been providing emergency shelter for families following the clashes earlier in the week, the council said.<\/p>\n

There have also been incidents in Carrickfergus, Coleraine, north Belfast and Newtownabbey.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Olympic swimmer Danielle Hill said the disorder was “racism in its rawest”<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Olympic swimmer Danielle Hill, who competed in both the Paris and Tokyo Games, was at the facility when the attacks took place. <\/p>\n

She took the decision to cancel swimming lessons after spotting four masked men near the centre. <\/p>\n

The 25-year-old said: “I mean, it’s sad. It’s awful. I lay awake last night. When there’s kids involved it’s upsetting. <\/p>\n

“It shouldn’t be happening. There was no need for the violence.”<\/p>\n

In a statement, a council spokesperson said they were “assessing the significant damage” and that “the centre remains closed”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Catherine Doyle BBC News NI Reuters There was disorder in Northern Ireland for the fourth night in a row but at a lower level than seen earlier this week. In Portadown, County Armagh, on Thursday a crowd pulled bricks and masonry from a derelict building which they threw at police. During the first three days […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30894,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[1342,7026,10511,1000,599,2936],"class_list":["post-30893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-news","tag-disorder","tag-fourth","tag-masonry","tag-night","tag-police","tag-thrown"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30893"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30895,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30893\/revisions\/30895"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}