Man fires fire extinguisher at restaurant diners in Belfast after racial abuse

A man entered a restaurant on University Street in Belfast, shouted racial abuse and discharged a fire extinguisher at outdoor diners. Police are appealing for witnesses.

Racial abuse and fire extinguisher attack at Belfast restaurant

The PSNI has issued an appeal for information after a man entered a restaurant on University Street in Belfast at around 9:10pm on Friday and began banging doors and shouting racial abuse at staff and customers, irishmirror.ie reports.

The man then seized a fire extinguisher and carried it outside, where he discharged it toward diners seated at outdoor tables before leaving in the direction of Dudley Street, continuing to shout racial slurs as he went.

Belfast City Chief Inspector Kelly Gibson confirmed the details in a statement: "It was reported that the man entered the restaurant at around 9.10pm and began banging doors and shouting racial abuse. He then grabbed a fire extinguisher and took it outside the restaurant, where he discharged it in the direction of outside diners, before leaving in the direction of Dudley Street while shouting further racial slurs."

Gibson added that enquiries to identify the suspect are ongoing. Police are asking anyone with information or recorded footage — including dashcam footage — to contact the PSNI on 101 or via the witness appeal form at reporting.psni.police.uk/appeals, quoting reference number 1556 03/07/26.

Information can also be passed anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via crimestoppers-uk.org.

Source: Google News UK — Crime (en)