Stephen Ogilvie, the 44-year-old victim of a knife attack in Belfast that sparked two nights of violent unrest, may be woken from his medically-induced coma within the next 48 hours. His condition is “improving”, DUP leader Gavin Robinson told Stormont today after speaking to the family, who are “broken” over what happened to their son. Ogilvie lost his left eye and suffered deep cuts to his head, face and back in the attack on Monday, which was captured on video and circulated widely online.
The family has pleaded for calm, saying they do not want the “terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility”. They also said they were “disgusted” by the disorder that followed. The reaction to the stabbing saw mobs set homes, a bus and cars on fire in Belfast on Tuesday, and people targeted based on their race. On Wednesday night, masked rioters pelted police with bricks and petrol bombs on the Antrim Road and near the Sandyknowes roundabout in Newtownabbey, where a Department for Infrastructure vehicle was set alight. Twelve police officers were injured, 16 arrests were made, and two people were charged. Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said he was “glad to say that last night there was less disorder than we witnessed on Tuesday night”, but condemned the “racist thuggery”.
“Belfast stabbing victim Stephen Ogilvie may wake from coma; family urges calm after riots.”
Ogilvie was the victim of a horrific attack years before Monday’s stabbing. In 2001, while living in Livingston, West Lothian, he was drugged by convicted drug dealer David McLeave, who placed a lit cigarette between his toes, removed his clothes, covered him in aftershave and set him on fire. McLeave was jailed for 14 years in April 2003. Ogilvie later returned to Northern Ireland, where he was forced into a car by McLeave’s associates.
The suspect in Monday’s attack, Hadi Alodid, 30, a Sudanese national, has been remanded in custody after being charged with attempted murder, possession of a blade in a public place, and threats to kill an NHS radiographer. As of Thursday evening, police reported no further significant outbreaks of disorder, maintaining a presence in areas that had seen the worst violence.