An eleven-year-old boy was the victim of a sectarian assault in North Belfast last week, with his mum saying the investigation is “not being taken seriously” by the PSNI.
The young boy was assaulted at around 9pm on Wednesday, September 2 in the Queen Victoria Gardens area by a group of children aged between 12 and 16 – who shouted sectarian abuse at him.
The following morning, mum Catherine McCotter, from the Skegoneill area, reported to the incident to police, but said she did not hear from officers until that evening, when the same group of youths came to her street and began to shout abuse at her and her child.
Later that night, she received a call from a police officer, dismissing the incident as “just a fight.” The concerned mum said they no longer feel safe in the mixed area, after living on their street for nine years, and her son feels unable to leave the house.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Catherine said: “My son and another wee boy were fighting around in Queen Victoria Gardens but a group of youths from Tiger’s Bay had come into the area. They all turned on Kevin and called him sectarian names, like ‘dirty taig’, and Kevin came around to me saying there was a big crowd of them. We walked away, but we were still getting abuse.
“My child was so upset, but I waited until Thursday morning and rang police to say this needed to be sorted, there was too big of a crowd against just one child. There was no police response.
“On Thursday night, the crowd then came into our street, and again shouted sectarian abuse, more or less trying to intimidate me and my son. It was only then that police responded.
“It took them until 7pm on Thursday night for them to come, and even then when they came into my home, the incident I reported hadn’t been read through or anything, they were reading it while sitting on my sofa.
“The crowd informed me they recorded the fight between the two kids, so I told police and said it was being shared around.
“I haven’t had word back from police about the video, or whether the crowd are being investigated. Last night [September 6], the whole crowd were back up at the top of Queen Victoria Gardens again. There have been no increased police patrols, there’s nothing, there’s no police to be seen to be looking out for any community resolution.”
Catherine said she believes her family has been let down by the PSNI, and has reported their response to the Police Ombudsman for investigation. She is calling for increased police patrols in the area, and for further support for her son.
In response, police said they deal with a “considerable number of calls for assistance on a daily basis” in the North Belfast area, and “all information given is considered when prioritising calls.”
“The police said it was just a fight. If it was just a fight, why were these kids able to come in and intimidate me in my street? My child can’t walk in this area on his own,” she said.
“I don’t feel safe, and it’s even worse now as the police have let me down. If they came out on Thursday morning, I wouldn’t have been dealing with the crowd in my street on Thursday night, that’s the way I see it. And it feels like to me the whole incident has just been blown off as it was just a fight.
“If it was just a fight, why are the kids bringing sectarianism into it? We respect the area. My kids don’t wear their Celtic or Cliftonville kits out there because we are in a mixed area.”
Catherine said the incident has left her young son shaken, and unable to do the things he would normally enjoy in the local area for fear of running into the group.
She said: “Kevin would usually go to the library down at the Grove, or around to Peas Park as he’s an outdoorsy child. But he can’t do that now on his own for the fear of meeting some of these kids again and getting a beating.
“I would have thought there would have been a police patrol car around the area, especially at the weekend. But there has been nothing.
“I told police my child was left suicidal by this whole incident as he knows he can’t walk around the area and he is being tortured. He didn’t want to go to school in case the video was circulating around.
“Where is the reassurance my child can walk down the street and nobody is going to touch him? Where’s the reassurance that these kids’ parents know what they’re doing in this area? There’s no reassurance of that whatsoever.
“I’m living in a mixed area and the police response and the way they’ve handled this has installed more fear in me. I feel even more intimidated.”
A PSNI spokesperson said: “Police in north Belfast deal with a considerable number of calls for assistance on a daily basis. All information given by the reporting person is considered when prioritising calls and those where there is an immediate risk to life or property are given precedence. As this matter has now been referred to the Police Ombudsman, we are unable to comment further on this matter.”
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