Second night of violence in Belfast

September 12, 2005

A second night of rioting on Sunday night and into Monday morning has taken place in and around Belfast, Northern Ireland, with loyalist mobs attacking police, hijacking vehicles and setting them alight.

A crowd of about 700 gathered on the Albertbridge road in the east of the city, where police were attacked. A mob of about 100 attacked police in the north of the city, and in the west of the city, a police station was attacked with a blast bomb (homemade grenade).

A digger was used to take out streetlighting before the disorder, with some of the street left in darkness. It is also believed that an ATM was removed by the digger. The police and army came under attack as they moved in to retrieve the items and respond.

Cars were hijacked and set alight in a number of locations. A more serious incident occurred in Bangor, some distance east of Belfast in County Down where a bus was hijacked. Passengers were ordered off the vehicle before being robbed, and the bus set alight, blocking a road.

Baton rounds were again fired by police and the army, with the army also firing one live round. A suspect was shot and apprehended in this incident, and they are to be charged with attempted murder.

The previous night's riots were the worst seen in Northern Ireland for many years, and a first for involving live fire at police during a public disorder incident.