Three individuals have been taken into custody after a disturbing racially-motivated hate crime incident occurred at a busy beach in North Down on Monday, according to law enforcement officials.
A police representative disclosed that a report was received regarding the assault of three men, all in their thirties, at Helen’s Bay beach around 9 pm. The beach was teeming with people due to the high temperatures earlier in the day.
The assault followed a previous verbal dispute, resulting in the victims sustaining several severe but non-life-threatening injuries.
Subsequently, three males aged 28, 23, and 21 were apprehended in their vehicle on suspicion of assault causing actual bodily harm and possessing an offensive weapon. Upon searching the vehicle, suspected class A and class B drugs were found, leading to the 23-year-old’s additional arrest for drug possession.
The trio remains in police custody at present.
Authorities confirmed that the incident is being treated as a racially-motivated hate crime.
“We understand that this was a distressing event for those enjoying the evening sunshine on the beach and want to assure the local community that our investigation is moving swiftly,” stated the police spokesperson.
“We deployed extra officers in the vicinity to ensure the safety of beachgoers and responded promptly to the scene. We commend the members of the public who intervened to prevent the situation from escalating further.”
“As we continue our inquiries, we urge anyone who witnessed the assault or the events leading up to it to contact the police on 101, quoting reference 1721 25/05/26.”
“We are particularly interested in hearing from anyone who may have video footage of the incident.”
Information can also be provided through the online non-emergency reporting form at www.psni.police.uk/makeareport.