- Public disorder broke out in Ballymena, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland, following a protest over an alleged sexual assault case.
- Petrol bombs, fireworks and bricks were thrown at police, and properties were torched during the riots.
- The unrest began as a peaceful vigil before a number of masked people broke away and began to build barricades and attack properties, police say.
- Justice Minister Naomi Long condemned the violence, while North Antrim MP Jim Allister linked the “distressing” unrest to growing tensions over immigration.
- Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said the “shocking scenes of disorder on the streets of Ballymena have to be condemned in the strongest terms”, and urged calm.
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