Three men have been taken into custody following a chaotic night in Belfast where windows were shattered and a car was seized and rammed into a real estate office.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) announced that the incidents on Woodvale Road and Rathlin Street are being investigated as racially motivated hate crimes.
This unrest comes after earlier disturbances in south Belfast on Saturday and Monday. The arrested men, aged 26, 28, and 41, face multiple charges, including criminal damage.
Authorities reported that around 20:45 BST on Tuesday, a group of masked men hijacked a car on Fingal Street. The stolen vehicle was then “deliberately driven” into the front of a business on Woodvale Road before the suspects fled the scene.
Shortly thereafter, at about 21:25 BST, reports came in of masked individuals breaking windows on Rathlin Street.
Superintendent Allister Hagan issued a statement to reassure the community, promising a continued police presence in the area. He confirmed the incidents are being treated as racially motivated hate crimes. The PSNI has established a Major Incident Public Portal for people to submit any information, images, or videos from their mobile phones, dash cams, or CCTV.
Police patrols continued through Tuesday night. Meanwhile, in another part of the city, a section of Newtownards Road in east Belfast was set ablaze, but police intervened to extinguish the flames.
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