Detectives are appealing for information following a report of a burglary at residential premises located at the Castlereagh Place area of East Belfast on Wednesday 15th July.
Detective Inspector McCartan said: “Shortly before 9:10pm, it was reported that an unknown male entered a property in the area armed with a metal bat and threatened two male occupants who were inside. The males, one aged in his 30s and one in his 20s, were verbally abused by the male and threatened during the incident. Although there were no injuries reported to either men, they were left badly shaken.
“During the incident, the male armed with the metal bat caused damage to a glass table inside the property as well as a number of windows at the property.
“Enquiries are continuing to establish the circumstances but at this stage, this is being treated as a racially motivated hate crime.
“Anyone with any information that can assist with this investigation is asked to contact police using our witness appeal form at https://reporting.psni.police.uk/appeals quoting 1657 15/07/26 or call us on 101.
“Alternatively, you can report online at https://reporting.psni.police.uk/appeals or in confidence through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org .”