A STABBING IN Belfast on Monday night has led to online speculation throughout today, including about the nature of the attack, the alleged perpetrator and the victim.

Politicians have roundly condemned what has been described as “an appalling act of extreme violence”, with one councillor urging people “not to engage with far-right elements who will use this incident in an attempt to sow division”.

Online accounts are using the incident in an attempt to inflame tensions in Northern Ireland, and are seeking to bring people on to the streets of Belfast to protest despite a police investigation already commencing.

Footage of the incident has been shared online and there have been claims that it shows an attempted beheading, while others have incorrectly suggested the victim is a child or has died.

The incident happened in Kinnaird Avenue in north Belfast at around 10.30pm last night. 

Footage shared online and seen by The Journal shows a man on top of another man with a knife to his throat. The man on top can be seen raising his hand and shouting something towards onlookers.

Another member of the public later intervenes with a hurley in an attempt to stop the attack, and two others then also try to stop the attack. PSNI officers can then be seen intervening.

A spokesperson for the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said that the injured man, aged in his 40s, is in hospital where his condition is described as serious. The attack has left him with significant injuries to his face, neck and back.

At a press conference this afternoon, a spokesperson for the PSNI also said that the victim had significant injuries to his eyes.

The alleged attacker had leave to remain in the UK having travelled to Northern Ireland from Dublin.

DUP leader Gavin Robinson earlier told the House of Commons that the alleged perpetrator was in the UK under a five-year visa

Police initially reported that the man who has been arrested was “believed to be Somalian”, but later confirmed he is Sudanese. He remains in police custody.

They say that at this stage, they do not believe the incident was terror related.

The PSNI earlier urged people not to share footage or images of the attack on social media, saying that doing so “risks causing further trauma to the injured man’s loved ones and may impact the ongoing investigation.”

In the hours since the attack happened, users on X and Facebook, particularly those associated with far right and anti-immigrant movements have spread misinformation about the incident.

A slew of accounts have leaned into anti-Muslim rhetoric, including people likening the incident to an ISIS-style attack, and have referenced the Great Replacement conspiracy theory.

They include the posts on the social media accounts of an elected official in Ireland.

Some have shared an AI-generated list of “reported road closures” purported to be scheduled for this evening, despite no official confirmation that this will be happening, and there have also been calls for Belfast to be shut down so protests can happen.

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Numerous, sometimes contradictory, claims have also been made about the attacker, though very little information has been released on him except for an age-range and a likely nationality.

At a briefing this afternoon, police said that it was understood that the suspect lived nearby from where the attack took place. 

Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said that police had not established a motive, and did not want to speculate at such an early stage of the investigation. 

Some public figures have also criticised the press’s coverage of the case, indicating that news outlets are either intentionally ignoring or suppressing the story, or certain details.

However, the incident occurred at night, and many of the details of the case were released by the PSNI in the mid-morning. The lack of definitive details in the media is not a sign that the story is being suppressed.

The Journal will continue to report on the incident as more details become available, and this piece will be updated to reflect that.

With reporting by Diarmuid Pepper and Emma Hickey.

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