THREE women were left “badly shaken” after being targeted by a man shouting sectarian abuse at them in the early hours of the morning.
The incident happened in the Gasworks area of Belfast city at around 12.25am on August 9.
They were approached by a man who was “shouting sectarian abuse at them” the PSNI confirmed in a statement issued today.
“He then assaulted two of the women, who were left badly shaken by their ordeal,” they added.
The assaults followed reports of another incident which took place in the same area at around 12.10am that day, where a man was shouting abuse and throwing items at passers-by.
“The man approached a couple and threatened the female before verbally abusing the man,” the PSNI confirmed.
A report was also received shortly after midnight on that same day that a man had been assaulted by an unknown man in the McClure Street area.
“The victim was approached and punched in the face,” the police force explained.
The PSNI have launched an investigation and have urged any witnesses to these incidents to come forward.
“Police are investigating a possible link between all three reports, which are being treated as sectarian hate incidents and are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed anything or to anyone with CCTV or other footage that could assist with enquiries, to contact police on 101 quoting reference 3/08/26,” they said.
Everything from irishpost.com and the print edition is available on the Irish Post App — plus more! Download it for Android or Apple IOS devices today.