Police step up hunt for Belfast rioters
Police investigating rioting in north Belfast have vowed to “bring those responsible before the courts.”
Twenty PSNI officers are examining 100 hours of CCTV footage and over 1000 photographs taken by evidence gathering teams.
Police came under attack from republican rioters for the fourth night in succession in north Belfast overnight.
Petrol bombs were thrown at officers and a car burned out at the Ardoyne shops flashpoint.
It is understood a woman was pulled from the parked vehicle at Duneden Gardens.
Police fired a number of baton rounds and used water cannons during the trouble.
A number of police officers suffered injuries which are not believed to be serious.
The disorder at the notorious interface was not as sustained as it had been over the previous three nights with fewer rioters taking part.
Calm was restored to the area around 2am.
Assistant Chief Constable Duncan McCausland said police tactics used during the rioting were ‘effective.’
“This was a substantially smaller group of people than previous evenings which included around a hardened core of around 12 people who were intent on causing disorder.”
“Alongside our effective police operations during the incidents of disorder, we will now continue to work hard to identity those involved.”
“We will be doing our utmost to put people before the courts. We are very clear that we can and we will continue to maintain public safety and public confidence.”
A man aged in his early 20s was arrested and was released pending further enquiries.
A teenage boy was also detained and is continuing to assist police with their enquiries.
Police have said they will seek to identify and arrest those involved.
More than 80 police officers have been injured this week in disturbances across Northern Ireland as tensions surrounding the July 12 commemorations erupted into violence and disorder.
