Echo Comment: Violence is not the answer to our immigration problems
It is just creating more victims among all types of people as homes and cars are burned, and more lives are ruined and scarred.
Thugs have been going door to door, putting out people because of the colour of their skin, which is a thoroughly un-British way of behaving.
Ukrainian refugees have been caught up in the violence because they are foreigners, which is also against the national mood.
The British people have reached out in sympathy to Ukrainians because of Vladimir Putinβs unjust behaviour and yet thugs are now targeting them.
There are all kinds of undercurrents working across British society, seeding messages, inflaming situations, and trying to pull our country apart for their own ends.
That is even more dangerous in Northern Ireland where communities with differing agendas are still barricaded against one another.
But if violence doesnβt solve anything, then appealing for calm also does not address long-term issues.
The alleged attacker was given leave to remain in this country when he arrived in 2023.
At the very least, the public need to be reassured about how this decision was reached: what criteria were used, what investigations were undertaken, and how was he expected to live in the future?
If this situation is not explained, it will stoke the perception that our borders are uncontrolled and that anyone is allowed in, and that will then cause more anger to be generated.