Family of Belfast knife attack issue three appeals for calm after horror violence
Stephen Ogilvie is in hospitals as doctors battle to save his remaining eye while his family appeal for calm after footage of the horrific attack sparks street violence
Stephen Ogilvie is in a stable condition in hospital
The family of the man who lost an eye in a knife attack in Belfast have repeatedly called for calm saying they do not want it to “divide people or fuel hostility”.
Cars, houses and a bus were torched by gangs of masked demonstrators chanting “foreigners out” after gruesome footage showed Stephen Ogilvie, 43, being stabbed.
But today, his family called for calm. Ulster Unionist Party leader Jon Burrows, who spoke to Mr Ogilvie’s dad, said: “The victim’s father has… asked me to pass on a direct appeal to those spreading disinformation online: please stop. This has shockingly included false posts on social media at various times that his son has died.
“This is causing immense additional distress to a family already going through an unimaginable ordeal. I echo that appeal wholeheartedly and urge everyone to act with decency and respect for this family.”
The family themselves issued two statements, echoing Mr Burrows. In the latest, released at around 10.30pm on Wednesday, the relatives said they feel disgusted” by the recent disorder.
Hadi Alodid, 30, a Sudanese national, appeared in court on Wednesday charged with attempted to murder, threats to kill an NHS radiographer and possession of a knife.
The aftermath of the violence on Tuesday(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Politicians and police have called for calm after people took to the streets across the city on Tuesday evening, with reports they were targeting victims based on their skin colour.
A two-month-old baby was among those rescued by police as a mob set fires and smashed properties during terrifying street violence.
In a statement issued on Wednesday morning through local independent Councillor Stafford Ward, Stephen’s family said: “We are completely devastated by the horrific attack on our loved one on Kinnaird Avenue. This has been a massive shock to our whole family, and right now, our only priority is being at his bedside and helping him recover.
“We want to say a profound thank you to the local people who bravely stepped in during the attack. Your quick actions absolutely saved his life, and we will never forget what you did for him in that moment. We also want to thank the emergency services and the doctors and nurses looking after him.
“We are aware of the tensions and talk of protests following this incident. We want to make it absolutely clear that overnight unrest is not welcome, and peaceful protest is the only way forward. We have many migrants who make a deeply valuable contribution to our country, including in our healthcare system and hospitality sector and we depend on them to make our country work. We do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility.”
The family also asked for privacy and appealed for anyone with information about the attack, or who saw anything strange near Kinnaird Avenue, to go to the police.
A huge clean-up operation was underway on Wednesday amid fears of further violence.
Jamie Corrie, whose home of 13 years was destroyed by fire, said watching it burn down was “a feeling I’ll never get over”. Speaking outside the remains of his house on Lendrick Street in east Belfast, he said by the time firefighters arrived it was “already engulfed in flames”.
Jamie Corrie outside his the remains of his home (Image: AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Mr Corrie said the blaze started after a car belonging to “foreign nationals” who lived next door was torched. He said: “See standing there watching your house get burnt… that’s a feeling I’ll never get over.”
Mr Corrie added that he is also angry about the attack, but asked: “What does this resolve? “What does this actually do? Burning cars out, wrecking your own community and now one of their own has just lost their home.”
He said: “There’s stuff in there that’s sentimental, can’t be replaced, that you’ll not get again.”
It has emerged that Stephen, then 21, was drugged and torched by gangster David McLeave at a flat in Livingston, Edinburgh in 2001. Described by police as the group’s “punchbag”, he was given the date rape drug GHB before lit cigarettes were put between his toes.
Stephen moved from Belfast to Scotland to live with McLeave but was attacked by the drug dealer as he watched the TV. He stripped Stephen, poured aftershave on him and set him on fire while the attack was filmed. Stephen told the High Court in Edinburgh: “I am terrified and my nerves are shattered.”
Stephen Ogilvie was attacked on Monday(Image: @london_ukstreetnews/Instagram)
McLeave was jailed for 14 years in April 2003. His gangland accomplices Paul Campbell, then aged 20, Thomas Irvine, 21, Edward Lindsay, 23, and 21-year-old Lee Kingham were jailed for drug charges.
Tuesday’s street violence was sparked after footage of the attack on Stephen in Kinnaird Avenue, north Belfast at around 10.30pm on Monday was shared online.
Alodid, 30, refused legal representation when he appeared at the city’s magistrates’ court on Wednesday and made no reply to charges which were put to him through an Arabic interpreter.
Hadi Alodid appearing in court on Wednesday(Image: Elizabeth Cook/PA Wire)
When asked if he wished to apply for bail, he indicated he did, to which police “strongly” objected. A detective told the court the victim had lost his left eye and received deep cuts to his head, face and back.
Police recovered what it believed to be a kitchen knife at the scene. They had found the defendant armed with a blade and removed him from on top of the victim.
Alodid allegedly later said “I’ve killed someone, I don’t know if they are dead” while in hospital receiving treatment for a hand injury, and told medical staff “I will kill you”, the court heard.
Video circulating online shows hero bystanders, including one wielding a hurling stick, confronting the attacker until the police arrived.
Stephen, who is understood to have learning difficulties and was deaf in one ear, had been living in the same block of flats as the alleged attacker, though no motive has emerged.
One local said: “He’s a vulnerable person, apparently. He lives in the same flats as the man who attacked him. There’s a lot of information swirling around as to what happened. Nobody knows for sure why Stephen was attacked.”
PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson described those who intervened as “heroic”, saying they had “saved the life” of the victim. He added: “I want to reassure the local community that we are treating this attack with the utmost seriousness.”
The Home Office said the suspect was on leave to remain in the UK until 2028. He entered the UK in 2023 and was granted refugee status the same year. “The individual claims to have entered the UK via the Common Travel Area”, a spokesperson said.
Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said the suspect made his way from Sudan to Paris before flying to Dublin, and then travelled by bus to Belfast on 10 February 2023 – the date on which he claimed asylum.
He said: “There is no trace of this suspect on any of our national security databases and he was not known to the Police Service of Northern Ireland.”
The family’s statements in full
“We are completely devastated by the horrific attack on our loved one on Kinnaird Avenue. This has been a massive shock to our whole family, and right now, our only priority is being at his bedside and helping him recover.“We have witnessed a lot of false information circulating on social media which is now forcing us to clarify that our loved one is in fact in a stable condition, and we are solely focused on his recovery at this time.“We are also appealing to the media and the public to please give us some space. We need privacy to focus on our family right now, without cameras or people speculating about what happened via social media.“We have been left feeling disgusted by the scenes that unfolded yesterday across Northern Ireland in the wake of what happened. We want to make it absolutely clear that to do this in response is not supported by our family, and peaceful protest is only ever the way forward. We have many migrants who make a deeply valuable contribution to our country, including from within our healthcare system and hospitality sector, and we depend on them to make our country work. We do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility – do not do this in the name of our loved one as we do not share the same values.“We also wish to say a profound thank you to the local people who bravely stepped in during the attack. Your quick actions absolutely saved his life, and we will never forget what you did for him in that moment. We also want to thank the emergency services and the doctors and nurses looking after him.“If you know anything at all about the attack, or saw anything strange near Kinnaird Avenue, please go to the police and stop sharing false information on social media, as it is deeply distressing.“Thank you for respecting our privacy.”
