Police appeal over Botanic mayhem video
A SHOCKING video of a woman viciously punching and slapping two women in south Belfast’s Botanic Gardens yesterday has been viewed more than half a million times in a few hours.
Police have appealed for witnesses to come forward after the savage attack was recorded and uploaded to Facebook.
In the horrifying footage, a black-haired woman storms across the crowded park where families were enjoying the spring sunshine.
She rabbit-punches a woman in the head from behind, knocking her victim’s glasses to the ground. And as an apparently drunken skinhead lurches unsteadily across the frame, the foul-mouthed attacker screeches a torrent of obscenities — and charges wildly at the woman again, punching her hard in the face.
Seconds later, and still yelling at the top of her voice, the female attacker ferociously assaults a second woman — first headbutting her in the face, and following up with a vicious punch on the nose just as the video ends.
The candid video of the incident was uploaded to Coleraine Freshers Facebook page.
The footage was viewed well over half a million times in the first five hours it was up.
It was also shared almost 5,000 times, and has attracted almost 10,000 comments — many of them from people shocked that other park users had not intervened to stop the ruffian’s rampage.
Queen’s University student Roanna Trimble posted on Facebook that she had been in Botanic Gardens when the attack happened.
“It was pretty scary!” she wrote. “There had to have been at least 50 people watching and at first I thought it wasn’t anything serious, but then sadly it was.
“The police in a red van were following them shortly afterwards. Hopefully they’re caught!”
A man and a woman were arrested later in the afternoon.
A PSNI spokesman said: “A 25-year-old male was arrested on suspicion of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
“A 17-year-old female was also arrested on suspicion of common assault. Both are currently in custody helping police with their enquiries.”
The arrests followed what police described as an “altercation” in the park shortly before 4pm.
“We are aware that there may have been other assaults in the area today and are appealing for witnesses or anyone with footage to contact us on 101,” the PSNI spokesman said.