Owner heartbroken after racially-motivated arson attack

Just now

Catherine DoyleBBC News NI

A grocery store which was set to open in the coming months has been destroyed in what police have described as a racially-motivated arson attack in north Belfast.

The blaze at a former Gospel Hall on the Shankill Road began in the early hours of Saturday.

The owner who bought the building last year said he was heartbroken by what had happened.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said the building had been "totally gutted" by the blaze.

The owner, who did not wish to be named, is originally from India and has been in Northern Ireland for 18 years.

He said he had "no words" to describe how he was feeling.

"My whole life investment is just gone on this and we had no insurance on it because the electrician work was going on," he said.

"Everything is just gone and burnt out," he added.

The fire service confirmed to the police that the fire had been caused by "deliberate ignition to the roof".

Supt Finola Dornan said: "This out-of-use building had been bought by legitimate business people who would have brought jobs to the local community."

She said the police, as with "any crime motivated by hate", would be providing the owner with supervision, investigation and support.

"We do not underestimate the impact hate-related crimes have on victims, their families and wider communities," she added.

Dornan also said that while the police have a key role to play in preventing hate crimes, it was "a wider societal issue which cannot be resolved by policing alone".

Three fire appliances attended and left at about 5:00 BST.

DUP assembly member for North Belfast Brian Kingston called it an "utterly appalling" attack.

He said the former church building had closed about five years ago.

"No-one wanted to take it on since," he told BBC News NI.

"There are many people seeking to regenerate the Shankill Road, to bring derelict buildings back into use."

"This totally undermines this work.

"The vast majority of the people on the Shankill are opposed to arson attacks and opposed to attacks on anyone.

"Those responsible have done a great disservice to this community."

Sinn Féin MP Paul Maskey said those responsible "do nothing but damage their own communities".

"Targeting a building because of who owns it is despicable, especially when areas are crying out for jobs and investment," he said.

North Belfast councillor Carl Whyte, from the SDLP, called the attack "devastating".

"When I visited there were bags of food still sitting in the doorway, a reminder that these are ordinary people trying to run a business and support their families," he said.

"The owners and staff were providing a service to the community and have much more to offer than those who have targeted their business."