POLICE have appealed for witnessed to come forward after two cars were attacked in what officers are treating as a racially motivated hate crime.
PSNI officers were called to a large gathering at Factory Street in east Belfast at around 7.20pm on September 8.
During the incident two cars were targeted, with the drivers confronted by members of the group. One of the cars was damaged.
“The activity of these individuals has been generating fear in the community, and it has to stop,” the PSNI’s Chief Inspector Cunningham said.
“They are confronting and intimidating innocent members of the public, largely on the basis of the colour of their skin,” he added.
“Those involved have neither the legal nor the moral authority to do this. It is the responsibility of the Police Service to enforce the law in Northern Ireland.”
Chf Insp Cunningham said their investigation into the incidents are ongoing, which is being treated as “racially motivated hate crimes”.
“I want to urge anyone who has been a victim of these groups to report it to police,” he said.
“We will robustly deal with any offences brought to us.”
He added: “There will be an increased policing presence in the area, with officers continuing to work with relevant partner agencies in east Belfast to engage, challenge and monitor these groups and provide reassurance to the community.
“Let me be very clear, these groups are not protecting the community from anything. In reality these groups are frustrating our efforts to provide a policing service to the people of east Belfast by forcing us to redirect our limited resources to monitoring them.
“I urge everyone involved in this type of activity to stop.”
Anyone with information is urged to contact police.
“I am appealing to anyone who may have any information or to anyone with CCTV, dash-cam or other footage that could assist with enquiries to contact us on 101 quoting reference 1189 08/09/25,” Chf Insp Cunningham said.