Overview
- Large crowds, many of them young teenagers, gathered on Stewartstown Road on Saturday as masked riders on scrambler bikes and e-bikes set fires, dragged bins into the road and hurled masonry at officers.
- The disorder left one officer injured and damaged 11 PSNI vehicles, and police used stingers to stop riders and seized a scrambler whose 17-year-old rider was interviewed for multiple motoring offences.
- Officers have made multiple arrests and charges: a 27-year-old has been charged over the Stewartstown Road disorder and is due at Belfast Magistrates’ Court, while a 14-year-old was arrested and released pending a PPS report.
- Separate serious assaults over the weekend produced more suspects and charges, including two men charged with grievous bodily harm after a Dundonald attack, three men held on suspicion of attempted murder in north Belfast, and a Coleraine arrest for assault.
- Police are collecting CCTV, dash-cam and mobile footage through the new portal and say they will keep targeted patrols in the area; local debate is focused on causes, parental responsibility and public confidence in policing.