Belfast’s Christmas market has been sealed off after a man was seriously injured in a stabbing incident close by.
Ambulances rushed to Belfast City Hall around 8pm on Wednesday after reports that a man, believed to be in his 40s, was found stabbed close to the market.
The Northern Ireland ambulance service said: “We got the call before 8pm to reports that a man in his 40s was stabbed at the city hall. We sent a rapid response paramedic along with our A&E crew. The patient was treated at the scene and was taken to the Royal Victoria hospital where he is in a serious condition.”
The Police Service of Northern Ireland also confirmed that a man had been found at Donegall Square North close to city hall with a stab wound.
It is not believed that the incident was terrorism related.
Adrian Huston said he and his wife Felicity were walking through the stalls at the Christmas market when they saw a man beyond the barriers at city hall with his head drooped to his chest.
“From what we could see he was a very bad colour, very grey. He was just standing there very still and there was a steward from the market standing with him talking to him. We couldn’t see that he was injured but he seemed to be in a bad way,” Huston told the Belfastlive website.
The attack happened just after a musical display involving a group of drummers at the city hall gates.
Belfast’s deputy lord mayor Guy Spence condemned the attack.
He tweeted: “Hearing there’s been a stabbing at our Christmas Market in Belfast. Liaising with PSNI in City Hall, no justification for this heinous act.”
The Continental Christmas market has become a regular feature of Belfast’s cultural and social life during the festive season with trades and stall owners from all over Europe doing business in the grounds of city hall.
