15 police officers injured, buildings and houses damaged in anti-immigrant protest in Northern Ireland

In a statement, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said 15 officers were injured, with some requiring hospital treatment, after being attacked with "multiple petrol bombs, fireworks, heavy masonry, and bricks thrown in their direction by masked rioters."

During the violent disorder, two police vehicles and several buildings were damaged, four houses were set on fire, and three people were evacuated, the police said, adding that they are investigating the attacks on these properties as "racially motivated hate attacks."

According to police, a 29-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of riotous and disorderly behavior, attempted criminal damage, and resisting police, and he is still in custody.

"The shocking scenes of disorder on Ballymena's streets have to be condemned in the strongest terms," Ryan Henderson, assistant chief constable, said in the same statement.

The incident occurred hours after two 14-year-old boys appeared in Coleraine Magistrates' Court charged with attempting to rape a teenage girl in County Antrim, according to the report.