REPORT: Sudanese Man Arrested After Barbaric Street Beheading Attempt Rocks Belfast

Interesting immigration, northern ireland, sudan, united kingdom admin June 10, 2026 0 Comments

REPORT: Sudanese Man Arrested After Barbaric Street Beheading Attempt Rocks Belfast

A Sudanese man has been arrested in connection with an alleged knife attack in North Belfast that left a man in his 40s hospitalized with severe injuries, according to police and reports Tuesday.

Police arrested a Sudanese man in his 30s, according to a Tuesday morning news conference with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), the BBC reported. The victim suffered severe injuries to his eyes and grave slash wounds to his face and back, Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said. The victim remains hospitalized in serious condition, the BBC reported.

The alleged attack took place Monday night local time in the Kinnaird Avenue area of North Belfast, according to a PSNI statement.

Graphic video from bystanders in the area shows the suspect on top of the victim, yelling unintelligibly as he takes a knife to the victim’s neck while the victim struggles to escape.

People in the surrounding area can be heard screaming, “he’s trying to cut his head off” and “get off him ya f**kin rat,” according to News.com.au.

Local man Maitiu Mág Tighearnán identified himself as the person who intervened during the attack, according to Belfast Live. In the video, a man walks up and beats the suspect’s head with what appears to be a wooden hurling sick. A GoFundMe was launched to buy Maitiu Mág Tighearnán a pint.

The incident quickly attracted international attention after video footage of the attack circulated online. Police initially believed the man was Somalian, but later announced that the suspect was actually Sudanese, according to a press release. (RELATED: Car Bomb Explodes Outside Police Station, Cops Arrest Elderly Terror Suspect)

Chief Constable of the PSNI Jon Boutcher said that the suspect is an asylum seeker, the Telegraph reported. He was given leave to stay in the U.K. in September 2023, Boutcher said. The Home Office confirmed he was allowed to remain until 2028, the outlet reported.

ACC Henderson described the incident as a “brutal attack” that has “sent shockwaves through the community, causing real concern,” according to The National.

Henderson also detailed at a press conference Tuesday that the suspect had crossed into the United Kingdom from the Republic of Ireland after arriving in Dublin, Belfast Live reported. A Democratic Unionist Party leader, Gavin Robinson, said that the suspect was in the U.K. on a five-year visa, the outlet reported.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the alleged assault as “horrific” and “sickening.” He said there should be zero tolerance for heinous violence on the U.K.’s streets, The National reported.

LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 8: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at London Tech Week on government plans to use technology to boost growth on June 8, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Isabel Infantes – WPA Pool/Getty Images)

The attack comes in the wake of Henry Nowak’s death. He was a British student whose murder drew global outrage after Nowak was filmed being handcuffed by police while dying from stab wounds. His killer allegedly falsely claimed that he had been the victim of a racist attack.

Police have emphasized that the case is still being investigated, but Henderson asserted that “at this stage we have no information to suggest this was a terrorist-related incident,” reported the BBC.