Hadi Alodid Charged With Attempted Murder After Stephen Ogilvie Knife Attack in Belfast

A knife attack in Belfast left Stephen Ogilvie with significant injuries, including the loss of one eye, and the stabbing on Monday night preceded two nights of violent disorder in Northern Ireland.

“Hadi Alodid has been charged with attempted murder over Monday night's knife attack”

Sky News

Hadi Alodid, a 30-year-old Sudanese man, was charged with attempted murder over Monday night's knife attack, and Sky News said he was also charged with possessing a bladed article without good reason and making threats to kill an NHS worker.

South China Morning Post

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said a kitchen knife was recovered from the scene, and Sky News reported that the stabbing happened in the Kinnaird Avenue area, close to the busy Antrim Road in north Belfast, at about 10.30pm on Monday.

DUP leader Gavin Robinson said the victim’s condition was improving and he could be taken out of an induced coma within the next 48 hours, while the Irish News reported that Ogilvie could be woken from a coma within the next 48 hours.

PSNI assistant chief constable Ryan Henderson warned protesters the justice system “stands ready to give long sentences,” after police were pelted with bricks and petrol bombs and 16 people were arrested.

Gavin Robinson said he met Stephen Ogilvie’s parents and that the family were “broken” after their son was attacked, while the Irish News reported that the family wanted what happened on Monday evening to not be used as an excuse for intimidation or division.

Robinson said the family “hope, pray and trust that he will be released from that coma within the next 24 or 48 hours,” and he added that assessments would be made about his sight and other impacts from the atrocity.

The Guardian

Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn told Stormont that “law and order will be coming” for those engaged in disorder, and the Irish News said Benn condemned an incident in which a nurse was chased and intimidated while on her way to work at Ulster Hospital.

Ryan Henderson told reporters the justice system “stands ready to give long sentences to those bringing disorder to our streets,” and the Independent reported that a dozen officers were injured and 16 people were arrested after police were pelted with bricks and petrol bombs.

The Irish News also reported that Hadi Alodid appeared in court on Wednesday charged with attempted murder over Monday’s knife attack, and it said two people were charged after Wednesday night’s unrest.

Sky News said details of Alodid’s immigration status and how he travelled to the UK were revealed, including that he entered Northern Ireland across the intra-Irish border in February 2023 after flying to Dublin from Paris.

“Within minutes of the footage going online – of a Black man stabbing a white man – there was a sense of inexorability to what came next in Northern Ireland”

The Guardian

Sky News reported that Alodid claimed asylum upon arrival and that in September 2023 he was granted leave to remain in the UK until 2028, while it also said Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn told Times Radio the fast-track asylum scheme is no longer in use.

The Irish News said questions had been raised about co-operation between the UK and Irish Governments and the Northern Ireland Executive over border controls and immigration roles, and it reported that Benn, Irish Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan and Stormont Justice Minister Naomi Long spoke by phone to discuss protecting and preventing the “abuse” of.

The Guardian described how within minutes of footage going online, a sense of “inexorability” took hold in Northern Ireland, and it said residents intervened to halt the assault but Ogilvie was seriously injured, including having lost an eye.

The Guardian also reported that the fire service received 256 calls and attended 62 incidents during the unrest, while it said Northern Ireland’s crime rate fell last year by 3.3% from the previous 12 months and reached its lowest level since 1998.