Sudanese suspect arrested in Belfast stabbing case, Starmer urges calm

British prime minister Keir Starmer’s office urged calm on Tuesday after police announced the arrest of a Sudanese suspect in connection with a stabbing in a residential area of Belfast, Northern Ireland. Videos of the attack, which circulated widely online, drew national attention.The victim, a man in his 40s, was hospitalized late Monday with serious injuries to his eyes, face and back. The suspect, a man in his 30s, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and remained in police custody. A kitchen knife was recovered at the scene, according to the AP.Ryan Henderson, assistant chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, said investigators were working to establish a motive but had found no indication the attack was terrorism-related. He said police were not looking for any additional suspects.“This brutal attack will have sent shock waves through the community, causing real concern,” Henderson said.Gavin Robinson, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, told Parliament that the suspect had been living in the UK on a five-year visa and called on authorities to address what he described as “uncontrolled immigration.”Police believe the suspect had been granted permission to remain in the country and lived close to where the attack took place, Henderson said, declining to elaborate further given the ongoing investigation. When asked in Parliament whether the alleged attacker had entered the UK illegally, Northern Ireland secretary Hilary Benn said he was unable to confirm that.Starmer condemned the attack as “sickening” and said he had “no tolerance for abhorrent scenes of violence like this on our streets.” His office said “it is time for calm,” stressing that police needed time and space to conduct their investigation.Police and senior politicians urged the public not to share graphic footage of the attack or circulate misinformation about it.The Belfast incident follows a separate case that drew controversy last week: the sentencing of Vickrum Digwa, who was convicted of murdering Henry Nowak, a university student stabbed to death in Southampton in December. Digwa, a Sikh man, had claimed to police that Nowak had racially assaulted him; when officers arrived, they initially treated the injured Nowak as a suspect before realising the extent of his wounds and attempting to resuscitate him. Digwa was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 21 years.That case was cited by activists and US vice president JD Vance, who linked it to immigration and sparked heated debate about policing and race. A protest over Nowak’s death turned violent, with some demonstrators attacking police with chairs and rocks. Several individuals were subsequently charged with violent disorder.