Racial violence unfolded across Belfast on Monday 8 June, following a stabbing incident on Kinnaird Avenue. The incident, which occurred shortly after 10:30pm, involved a man repeatedly stabbing another figure, and footage of the assault was widely shared on social media platforms by Tuesday 9 June.
Commentators highlighted the racial aspect of the incident, noting the assailant was black and the victim white. Despite police having a suspect in custody, initially identified as a refugee from Somalia and later corrected to Sudan, outrage spread. Messages were widely shared, calling for businesses to close and for men aged 18 and over to gather at 25 locations across Northern Ireland at 7pm, with instructions to "be prepared to fight or be arrested."
Far-right agitators, including Elon Musk and Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (also known as Tommy Robinson), amplified these calls to protest. Organisers of the unrest, drawing on previous incidents of violence in 2024 and 2025, issued further instructions for participants to leave mobile phones at home and deactivate dashcams and doorbell cameras.
By early afternoon, schools sent children home, public transport halted, and foreign-owned businesses closed. Crowds gathered in loyalist areas, leading to attacks on homes and businesses. A Romanian family's home on Shankill Road was attacked, with bricks thrown and fireworks ignited, and their car set ablaze. Similar scenes occurred across Belfast, with families from Ukraine, Romania, Poland, and Sudan leaving their homes. Properties and vehicles, including a Glider bus, were set on fire, and roadblocks were set up to question suspected foreigners.
In some areas, police were reportedly absent or stayed back, with community volunteers escorting families to safety. The violence began to abate around 10pm, with crowds dispersing. Daniel Holder, director of the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ), stated that the riot was an "escalation of an existing pattern," noting that agitators had refined their methods to target more locations and reduce arrests.