Man, 25, arrested over fire at leisure centre housing migrants as Northern Ireland gripped by unrest
16 June 2025, 12:00 | Updated: 16 June 2025, 14:26
At least 28 people have been arrested in connection with the 'race-motivated disorder' that sparked havoc in Northern Ireland last week, including one over the suspected arson attack on a leisure centre.
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A man, 25, has been arrested following a house search in Larne has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life in relation to a fire that broke out at Larne Leisure Centre last week.
The site was being used to temporarily house those displaced from the nearby town of Ballymena that had been gripped by violent unrest.
Footage circulated on social media showed masked thugs smashing windows and setting fires outside the leisure centre in Larne, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
Police Service of Northern Ireland said the man arrested over the arson attack remains in custody.
He is one of 28 people, including 13-year-old girl arrested and set to appear in court today, arrested over the unrest that sparkled chaos in the town of Ballymena last week
Reas more: Families in emergency accommodation following days of Ballymena unrest
Three others have also been charged and will appear in court on Monday.
They include a 40-year-old man charged with riot, a 33-year-old woman charged with child cruelty relating to the disorder, and a 32-year-old man arrested for sending online posts relating to the public disorder.
He is charged with sending menacing messages through a public electronic communications network and with encouraging or assisting offences believing one or more will be committed.
The man is also further charged with possession of a class B controlled drug and is due to appear before Coleraine Magistrates’ Court today.
Meanwhile, graffiti in Bangor and on an unoccupied house in Chadwick Street in south Belfast are being investigated as race-motivated hate crimes.
Assistant Chief Constable Melanie Jones said: “Our heightened presence in our local communities and continued community engagement to de-escalate violence continued last night, thankfully, similar to Saturday, the situation was much calmer.
“I issued a public plea to parent/guardians and families of young people who have been driving the criminal activity in some areas to warn them of the serious consequences of their actions. I am asking for continued conversations amongst local families to deter young people from criminalising themselves.”
She later added: “Everyone deserves to feel safe on our streets. So, just as we will seek justice for women and girls who report heinous crimes to us, we will also seek justice for local innocent families who are being targeted by criminality fuelled by hate."
The force will continue to 'robustly investigate the disorder over the last number of days', she added, saying that police 'do not want to see any more young people criminalised by being caught up in this activity', she said.
She added: "Thankfully, none of our officers policing this disorder reported being injured on duty last night. We have 64 of our colleagues currently recovering from injury and I commend their bravery and unwavering efforts."
Police have already released images of a number of individuals they want to identify and interview in connection with their ongoing investigation.
'In releasing these images, I am asking the wider community to step forward and help us. It is in all of our interests, and in the interests of justice, that those responsible are dealt with and I would urge anyone who may have information to bring it forward,' Constable Jones added.
Those able to identify any of the people shown in the images or can provide information about them you are urged to contact the PSNI on 101 or on their major incident portal, which is accessible on their website.
“I would also like to reassure the communities that we serve that we will continue to maintain our presence and protect streets,' Constable Jones said.
The force said there were “sporadic disturbances” on Saturday which included youths throwing stones in Lurgan and an attempt to attack a vehicle in Carrickfergus.
The disorder started in Ballymena on Monday after an alleged sexual assault of a girl in the town last weekend. Two 14-year-old boys, who spoke to a court through a Romanian interpreter, have been charged with attempted rape.
A peaceful protest last Monday evening about the alleged assault was followed by attacks on police and properties housing ethnic minorities.The PSNI described the scenes as “racist thuggery”.
The disturbances in the Co Antrim town continued for several nights and spread to other areas of Northern Ireland including Portadown, Larne, Belfast, Carrickfergus, Londonderry and Coleraine.
