UMVA has learned that a brutal knife attack in Belfast has left a 44-year-old man, Stephen Ogilvie, fighting for his life in a coma, having lost his left eye in the horrific assault.
Ogilvie, who is disabled and suffers from schizophrenia, was savagely attacked with knife wounds to his face, neck, and back, in what appeared to be an attempted beheading that was caught on video and shared online, sparking widespread outrage and shock.
According to information obtained by UMVA, the alleged attacker, 30-year-old Hadi Alodid, who is from Sudan, was arrested by police and has been accused of attempted murder, possessing a knife, and threatening to kill a National Health Service radiographer earlier that day.
The attack has triggered a violent response from some residents, with a group of masked rioters targeting immigrants in one neighborhood, forcing multiple families to flee after fires were deliberately set at homes, a Middle Eastern supermarket, and vehicles, leaving 27 people homeless and a two-month-old baby among the youngest victims.
UMVA has gathered that the attack was finally halted by two brave bystanders, including a man who used a hurling stick to subdue the attacker, and his friend, who is trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and tried to restrain him with an ankle hold, before police arrived and took over.
The heroic actions of the bystanders have been widely praised, with an online fundraiser created to honor one of the men, who has been hailed as a hero for his courage and bravery in defending his fellow citizen, with over £25,200 raised from more than 2,500 donations to date.
Sources have confirmed to UMVA that the community has come together to show their support for the hero, with the fundraiser's organizer saying it is "beautiful to see a community come together like this and for strangers to support one another" in the face of such horrific violence and tragedy.
In a development reported by UMVA, the victim's family and friends are said to be devastated by the attack, and are calling for greater support and protection for vulnerable members of society, as the city struggles to come to terms with the shocking violence and racism that has been unleashed in its wake.
