A 29-year-old man has been charged with riotous behaviour after being arrested during disorder in Ballymena on Monday night.
The man, who is due to appear before Ballymena magistrates court on Thursday 3 July, has also been charged with disorderly behaviour, attempted criminal damage and resisting police.
Fifteen police officers were injured and several homes attacked during what has been called a “mob fury” of racially motivated disturbances in the Northern Irish town.
Some people in a crowd threw petrol bombs, fireworks, heavy masonry and bricks at police and tried to burn the homes of a handful of foreign families in the County Antrim town.
The violence erupted after a vigil for a teenage girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted by two 14-year-old boys. Earlier on Monday the boys had appeared in court charged with attempted rape. A Romanian interpreter read them the charges.
On Tuesday, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said it had made a third arrest in connection with the incident and reiterated a public appeal for information. It said a 28-year-old man had been unconditionally released from police custody after questioning.
“A number of masked individuals then broke away from the vigil and began to build barricades, stockpiling missiles and attacking properties in the Clonavon Terrace area,” police said. “Elements of the crowd then turned on to police and attacked officers with petrol bombs and masonry.”
The attacks damaged two police vehicles and injured 15 officers, some who required hospital treatment. Four houses were damaged by fire and three people evacuated from their homes amid what are being investigated as racially motivated hate attacks.
Liam Kelly, the chair of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, which represents officers, said the injuries told a “frightening story of a mob fully intent on inflicting great harm”. He said officers worked tirelessly to defuse a potentially explosive situation and uphold the law.
“I have no doubt whatsoever that police officers – far too few, because the service is starved of resources and officer numbers – prevented a pogrom with consequences too painful to contemplate. What we saw was totally mindless, unacceptable and feral,” Kelly said.
In a video shared online, a woman who had observed homes being attacked expressed concern that debris could “ricochet” and hit those participating or watching, the Irish News reported.
“Be careful lads,” she said. A man then informed her that there were people in one of the houses being attacked. She replied: “Aye, but are they local? If they’re local, they need out. If they’re not local, let them fucking stay there.”
The assistant chief constable Ryan Henderson said: “We are actively working to identify those responsible for last night’s racially motivated disorder in Ballymena and bring them to justice.
“Anyone who has information or who can help identify those responsible is asked to contact police on 101.”
He added: “Over the coming days, we will have in place a significant policing presence to help protect these communities in Ballymena and prevent any future disorder.”
Reinforcements would be sought from Wales and England if necessary, Henderson said.
Jim Allister, the Traditional Unionist Voice leader and MP for North Antrim, condemned the violence and said tension had been building in the town, which is 25 miles north of Belfast. “Within Ballymena there has been rising concerns about the sheer scale of migration into the town, and that would have been a factor in the wholly peaceful protest,” he said.
A spokesperson for Keir Starmer said the disorder was very concerning. “Obviously, the reports of sexual assault in the area are extremely distressing, but there is no justification for attacks on police officers while they continue to protect local communities.”
Politicians across Northern Ireland’s political spectrum condemned the violence. “There is absolutely no place in our society for such disorder,” said Naomi Long, the justice minister.
The health minister, Mike Nesbitt, on Tuesday visited homes that had been damaged. “I understand people have concerns about immigration. There are legitimate ways to express those concerns – last night was not one of them,” he said.
There has been a spate of intimidation and attacks against people from abroad in County Antrim in recent years, forcing some to flee.