Woman left shaken after Belfast knifepoint attack

By Simon Hunter

A woman's been left badly shaken after being held at knifepoint in an attempted hijacking in Belfast.

It happened in the Crumlin Road area of the city sometime between midnight and 00:45 on Sunday morning.

A woman in her twenties was returning to her car on Fleetwood Street, before being approached by a man who tried to quickly get into the vehicle and threatened her with a knife.

He caught her arm with the blade described as 6 to 7 inches in length, ripping the sleeve of her jacket, before she ran towards the Mater Hospital, where she worked, to get help.

She wasn't physically injured, but left very shocked.

The attacker is described as being 5'5" in height, of skinny build and wearing a dark-coloured hat or hood.  

He was also wearing a dark tracksuit with stripes down the arms of the top and dark bottoms. 

He wasn't wearing gloves, was clean-shaven with some stubble and spoke with a Belfast accent.

It's believed the man left Fleetwood Street and made his way up the Antrim road to the Vicinage Park area where he was picked up by a silver-coloured car.

Detective Sergeant McPhillips said,  “This was a frightening episode for this woman to experience as she finished a hospital shift helping others and we are appealing to the public for help. We believe the man left Fleetwood Street and made his way up the Antrim road to the Vicinage Park area where he was picked up by a silver-coloured car.

“I would appeal to anyone who was in the area of the Crumlin road, Fleetwood Street or nearby Vicinage Park between 12 midnight and 12.45am and saw any suspicious activity or a male fitting this description to get in touch with us immediately on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference number 31 of 30/12/18.”