A Somalian migrant has been taken into custody following the emergence of a shocking video depicting an attempted beheading on a UK street, an incident described by witnesses as reminiscent of a “horror movie.”
The chilling footage captures a frenzied assailant, drenched in blood, attacking his victim in Northern Ireland late Monday. A local politician condemned the assault, calling it both “barbaric” and “medieval.”
In the distressing video, the victim, bloodied and desperate, struggles as the attacker repeatedly stabs him in the head and neck. The clip, circulated by Turning Point UK, reveals the victim’s frantic attempts to resist.
Onlookers, appalled by the scene, rushed to intervene. One brave individual struck the attacker with a hurling stick while others worked to pry the victim from his grip.
Northern Ireland police announced on Tuesday that a man in his 30s, reportedly of Somalian descent, has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
Authorities have yet to disclose a motive for the attack or whether it is being investigated as an act of terrorism.
The victim, an unidentified local man in his 40s, was left with significant injuries to his face, neck and back, police said of the “brutal” attempted murder.
One resident told the Belfast Telegraph it was like “something out of a horror movie.”
“I’ve never seen anything like that in my life, it’s shocking,” another told the outlet.
One woman told the BBC she heard screams outside — and then saw children gathered in the street.
“I was just absolutely petrified,” one woman said, revealing she had “never seen anything like it.”
Local council member Paul McCusker told the BBC that at least one local woman was also hospitalized “because of the stress of witnessing such a brutal attack.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the attack, describing it as “sickening” and said he had “no tolerance for abhorrent scenes of violence like this on our streets.”
Democratic Unionist Party leader Gavin Robinson called it “barbaric” and “medieval.”
