Police use water cannon in response to anti-immigrant violence in Northern Ireland town

LONDON (AP) — Demonstrators pelted police with bricks, bottles and fireworks and set vehicles alight on Tuesday in a second night of anti-immigrant violence in the Northern Ireland town of Ballymena.

Police used water cannon and plastic baton rounds in an attempt to disperse a crowd of several hundred people in the town 25 miles (40 km) north of Belfast.

Violence erupted Monday after a peaceful march to show support for the family of the victim of an alleged sexual assault on the weekend. Two 14-year-old boys have been charged.

The suspects have not been identified because of their age. They were supported in court by a Romanian interpreter.

Several houses were set on fire on the first night of disorder on Monday. The Police Service of Northern Ireland said 15 officers were injured.

Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said officers were “actively working to identify those responsible for last night’s racially motivated disorder in Ballymena and bring them to justice.”

He said the violence should be “loudly condemned by all right thinking people.

“Any attempt to justify or explain it as something else is misplaced,” he said.