LONDON — Broken windows were covered with plywood on Clonavon Terrace in Ballymena on Wednesday afternoon, and the singed end of a curtain blew lazily out of a window. In another window, the wiry end of a charred bed frame was just visible, the sign of an attempted arson attack.

For two nights, this street in Northern Ireland has been the site of rioting, with homes, businesses and vehicles attacked in what police have described as “hate-fueled acts and mob rule.” Some had feared the unrest could restart Wednesday night.

The outbreak of violence began after two 14-year-old boys appeared in a local court on Monday charged with attempted oral rape of a girl on Clonavon Terrace on Saturday night. The boys spoke through a Romanian translator, the BBC reported, and both denied the charges through their lawyer.

The assault set off an outcry in Ballymena, a town of about 31,000 people, and tapped into a broader anti-immigrant movement that has resulted in several outbreaks of violence in recent years.

— The New York Times