A Catholic teenager was attacked by a mob in Northern Ireland today, near the scene of an alleged sectarian murder attack of another schoolboy. The victim, aged 17, was beaten by up to six others in Ballymena, Co Antrim.
He suffered head and hand injuries in the attack just before 4am in the Granville Drive area of the town. His wounds are not believed to be life- threatening. Police arrested one man in connection with the beating, which they are treating as sectarian.
The assault happened just yards from where Michael McIlveen, a 15-year-old Catholic, was cornered and battered by a group in May.
The St Patrick's College pupil later died from his injuries. Seven men and juveniles have been charged with the murder, which plunged a town riven with sectarian tensions into shock and provoked pleas for action to end the divisions.