Police in Belfast patrolling streets to protect extremely distressed communities after unacceptable and reckless HITLIST of addresses believed to house migrants was widely circulated on social media

Published: 23:09, 10 June 2026 | Updated: 23:09, 10 June 2026 Police in Belfast were last night patrolling areas named on a ‘hitlist’ of addresses believed to house migrants that had been widely circulated on social media, which the PSNI said had put ‘lives at risk’. It followed a knife attack on Monday night involving a Sudanese national that sparked rioting across the city and wider unrest across the North. Dozens of homes and businesses were burned out by gangs of thugs on Tuesday night in the aftermath of the attack which happened on Kinnaird Avenue in north Belfast. Twenty-seven people were made homeless ‘because people went door-to-door to try and target foreign nationals to burn them out of their homes’, the British government said. A two-month-old baby was among those rescued during the violence, the PSNI chief constable Jon Boutcher said. The PSNI was last night braced for a repeat of violent scenes, as it condemned the ‘reckless’ and ‘unacceptable’ circulation of addresses that had left communities ‘extremely distressed’. PSNI use water cannon to disperse a large crowd at Sandyknowes roundabout in Belfast Belfast city centre resembled a ghost town yesterday, with public transport cancelled and shops and most restaurants and bars shuttered by the early evening. The family of the victim of the attack, Stephen Ogilvie, urged the public not to engage in violence and said immigrants play a vital role in society. Mr Ogilvie remains hospitalised having lost an eye in Monday’s knife attack. The so-called hitlist showed the addresses of known migrants who were living in the area. The Irish Daily Mail understands that many of those addresses belong to students who are in the North legally and who are studying. Bar staff at some of the few places which remained open told the Mail that employees of colour asked to be sent home early, to get their families out of their accommodation and to safety. In one establishment, a barman said his best friend had left work to bring his family to ‘a white house’, due to the fear of them being targeted. The same barman explained that there was a palpable fear among the immigrant community in Belfast, many of whom have lived there for decades. Regarding the hitlist, a statement to the Mail from the PSNI said: ‘We are aware that following recent disorder some social media users are posting address details online or sharing these through communication apps. ‘Highlighting properties in this way is totally unacceptable. ‘We have received phone calls from a number of families, house owners, neighbours and members of the wider community who are extremely distressed as a result of this reckless activity. ‘This is unacceptable. It is putting lives at risk and has to stop. ‘Anyone who shares personal information online with the intention to endanger others may be committing a criminal offence. ‘Any person who publishes or distributes material which is threatening or abusive may also be committing an offence. We will be investigating any such posts which come to our attention.’ Alliance MLA Kate Nicholl said: ‘There is a so-called hit list doing the rounds on social media. ‘I have spoken to PSNI who will be actively patrolling areas and have spoken to several people in these addresses. People of all ethnicities [are] feeling unsettled right now, check in on your neighbours and keep safe.’ Food delivery services in Belfast were shut after 3pm, so too were public transport links. Buses stopped at 5pm while train services stopped at 6pm. Hadi Alodid, 30, appeared in court charged with attempted murder over Monday’s knife attack. Mr Alodid, who appeared in court via video link, made no reply to the charges when they were put to him through an Arabic interpreter. Mr Ogilvie’s family said in a statement that they were ‘devastated by the horrific attack’ but pleaded for calm. In Belfast city centre late yesterday afternoon, almost every convenience store, restaurant or bar had shut its doors. The city’s Cathedral Quarter was eerily quiet and bemused tourists in the area walked around the sights, most of them confused as to why the city was empty. Couple John and Isabelle Partridge, from Ohio in the US, said they were touring Ireland for their summer holidays. As the rain fell upon them outside Queen’s University, the couple said they had no idea what was happening. ‘We were supposed to go to Donegal but we went back to Dublin and got to Belfast. And now, there’s nothing open. We’re going back to the hotel now.’ Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.