A fire broke out at a leisure centre during a third night of disorder in Northern Ireland on Wednesday.
People wearing masks smashed windows at the Larne leisure centre in County Antrim and set fires outside which spread inside the building.
The attack coincided with a third night of public disorder in the town of Ballymena, 30 minutes from Larne. Demonstrators who gathered on Bridge Street in Ballymena were told to disperse by riot police shortly before 9pm after a firework was thrown at officers. Petrol bombs, a hatchet and masonry were also thrown at police in the town. Officers responded with water cannon, dogs and plastic baton rounds in an attempt to disperse crowds. At least one person was struck by plastic baton rounds.
Danny Donnelly, an MLA for East Antrim, said in a social media post: “Larne leisure centre has been attacked by masked thugs. Windows smashed and fires lit nearby. Larne does not need this.”
Mid and East Antrim borough council said the leisure centre had been designated as an emergency rest centre for those in urgent need after the disturbances in Ballymena, but the families had been safely relocated elsewhere.
It followed two previous nights of rioting that left 17 police officers injured and caused damage to several homes, businesses and vehicles in the town.
Six people were arrested for public order offences, and one charged.
A crowd launched a “sustained attack” on officers on Tuesday night by hurling petrol bombs, masonry and fireworks in the County Antrim town, a police spokesperson said.
They added: “Businesses and homes were attacked and damaged and a number of vehicles were also set on fire in the area. Seventeen officers were injured with some requiring hospital treatment.”
Disturbances erupted on Monday night – when 15 officers were injured – after a vigil for a teenage girl allegedly sexually assaulted by two 14-year-old boys. The boys had appeared in court that day charged with attempted rape, where a Romanian interpreter read them the charges.
Police said the unrest turned into racially motivated attacks on foreigners that left families cowering in their homes as mobs broke windows and tried to set fire to curtains. Police fired plastic baton rounds and used water cannon to try to disperse the crowds on Tuesday.
Jon Boutcher, the Police Service of Northern Ireland chief constable, said the “mindless violence” was deeply concerning and unacceptable. “These criminal acts not only endanger lives but also risk undermining the ongoing criminal justice process led by the PSNI in support of a victim who deserves truth, justice and protection. Ironically, and frustratingly, this violence threatens to derail the very pursuit of justice it claims to challenge.”
Boutcher appealed for an immediate end to criminality and disorder. “As with any serious offenders in Northern Ireland, we will pursue those responsible and bring them to justice. We will now begin our investigation of reviewing all evidence gathered, including video footage, and images of the individuals involved will be released to identify offenders. Do not throw away your future and do not continue to endanger or intimidate the lives of others.”
In a joint statement on Wednesday, ministers from across Northern Ireland’s power-sharing executive, which includes Sinn Féin, the Democratic Unionist party, the Alliance party and the Ulster Unionist party, said those involved in the disorder in Ballymena had nothing to offer society but “division and disorder”.
The statement said: “As ministers representing every party and department in the Northern Ireland executive, we strongly condemn the racially motivated violence witnessed in recent days and make an urgent appeal for calm across society.
“It is paramount that the justice process is now allowed to take its course … Those weaponising the situation in order to sow racial tensions do not care about seeing justice and have nothing to offer their communities but division and disorder.
“While all of our citizens have the right to engage in peaceful protest, there can never be any justification for the violence that has taken place in recent days, during which residents have been terrorised and numerous PSNI officers injured.”
Smaller protests took place on Tuesday night in Lisburn, Coleraine, Newtownabbey, Carrickfergus and Belfast.
Reinforcements would be sought from Wales and England if necessary, police said. A Downing Street spokesperson condemned the violence and appealed for calm, as did politicians across Northern Ireland.
The Northern Ireland secretary, Hilary Benn, said on X: “The terrible scenes of civil disorder we have witnessed in Ballymena again this evening have no place in Northern Ireland.”
