Newtownabbey: Man arrested following second night of violence
- Published
A 47-year-old man has been arrested following a second consecutive night of violence in Northern Ireland.
Thirty petrol bombs were thrown at police and three vehicles were hijacked and set alight during rioting in Newtownabbey, on the outskirts of Belfast, on Saturday night.
Police said a crowd of 20 to 30 people gathered from about 19:30 BST to 22:30 BST at the Cloughfern roundabout in the O'Neill Road area.
The man remains in police custody.
The crowd consisted of young people and older men, some of whom were wearing masks, according to police.
The trouble was described as an "orchestrated attack on police" by Ch Supt Beck.
"No one, no matter what line of work they are in, deserves to be subjected to any kind of violence," he said.
At the scene: A planned confrontation
Mark Simpson, BBC News NI News Correspondent
When the police arrived to stop the violence, a member of the crowd shouted: "It's party time".
Clearly they were spoiling for a fight.
This was not a loyalist protest that went wrong. It looked like a planned confrontation.
By burning three vehicles at a busy roundabout, the crowd knew the police would arrive soon. They did.
What happened next was ugly, but the police operation was firm and controlled.
Within an hour, order had been restored.
Ch Supt Beck called on those involved in the attacks to "stop immediately".
"Their actions are causing nothing but harm and distress to the very communities they are representing," he said.
"No one wants to be dragged back to the dark days when rioting was a common occurrence on the streets of Northern Ireland."
One man had his clothing set alight while he was confronting police. A petrol bomb was thrown from the crowd behind him and landed in front of him.
NEW: Man injured by petrol bomb in Newtownabbey last night. The flames were eventually put out before his injuries were more severe. pic.twitter.com/AD6gflvnMJ
— Mark Simpson (@BBCMarkSimpson) April 4, 2021
He fell to the ground and was caught up in the flames.
He ran to get help and members of the crowd helped to dampen the flames.
Police worked with "very closely" with local councillors in an effort to diffuse the situation, according to Ch Supt Beck.
"We will continue to work with our partner agencies, community and elected representatives and the people of Newtownabbey to ensure we can all live in a peaceful society," he added.
Police appealed for anyone with information on the violence to contact them.