A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a knife attack in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Monday night, according to the police.<\/p>\n
The man, who the police said is in his 30s and Sudanese, is alleged to have attacked another man, in his 40s. The victim is currently in the hospital in serious condition, the police said. The police had originally said that the attacker was believed to be Somali before releasing an updated statement at midday on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Ryan Henderson, assistant chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, said in a statement that the police were still working to determine a motive. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis brutal attack will have sent shock waves through the community, causing real concern,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to reassure the local community that we are treating this attack with the utmost seriousness.\u201d<\/p>\n
Graphic video footage of the attack spread quickly on social media and prompted outrage from some commenters. In the clip, a bystander can be seen approaching the attacker and battering him with a hurley, a long wooden stick used in the Irish sport of hurling<\/a>.<\/p>\n The knife attack was quickly condemned by politicians across the political spectrum in Northern Ireland. Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain called the incident \u201csickening,\u201d in a post on social media<\/a>. He said he had \u201cabsolutely no tolerance for abhorrent scenes of violence like this on our streets.\u201d<\/p>\n Hilary Benn, the cabinet minister for Northern Ireland, said in Parliament on Tuesday that all sides had the responsibility to urge calm. He cautioned against attempts to use the assault to stir up anti-immigrant sentiment and \u201cseek disorder on the streets of Northern Ireland.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI say that because we have seen it before and we do not wish to see it again,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n The police said that the knife attack occurred around 10:30 p.m. on Monday outside an apartment complex in northern Belfast and that officers arrived at the scene within minutes. They did not identify the victim, who they said had suffered significant injuries to his face, neck and back.<\/p>\n Despite the calls for restraint, a number of far-right activists posted video of the stabbing, using the footage to press anti-immigrant views. <\/p>\n The attack occurred against a backdrop of heightened tensions in the United Kingdom over acts of violence. The stabbing of Henry Nowak in the city of Southampton, southern England, in December fueled outrage and became increasingly politicized<\/a> online last week after footage was released showing him being handcuffed by the police as he lay dying. The right-wing lawmaker Nigel Farage claimed that the police\u2019s initial response \u2014 in which they believed the attacker, a British-born Sikh man, instead of the victim \u2014 was evidence of \u201canti-white prejudice.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n The day after the footage was released, a night of protest devolved into violence in Southampton.<\/p>\n On Tuesday morning, after the Belfast attack, Mr. Farage posted on social media, saying: \u201cThe authorities must reveal the identity and status of the attacker immediately. The public are entitled to the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n