Sectarian attack schoolboy dies

A schoolboy savagely beaten in a sectarian attack in Northern Ireland died in hospital tonight.

Police investigating the assault on Michael McIlveen, 15, in Ballymena, Co. Antrim, confirmed that it is now a murder inquiry.

Five suspects are being questioned.

Michael, a Catholic, was chased from an entertainment complex in the town just after midnight on Saturday after getting a takeaway pizza.

He was battered by a gang of thugs, who cornered him and allegedly used a baseball bat before stamping on his head.

The assault has shocked Ballymena, a predominantly Protestant town plagued by sectarian tensions that include frequent clashes between rival gangs of youths.

The St Patrick’s High School student was with friends when they were pursued for half a mile after being chased from the IMC cinema centre.

They scattered, but the teenager could not escape and was set upon in the Granville Drive area.

The full extent of his injuries was only discovered after he managed to make his way home.

He was taken from his house in the Dunvale estate to Antrim Area Hospital where his family maintained a bedside vigil until his life support machine was switched off at around 8pm tonight.

Police chiefs in the town have already confirmed that they were treating the attack as sectarian, and have urged public representatives to help ease tensions and prevent any retaliation strikes.

A 19-year-old man has already been charged with an attack on another victim, 24 hours after Michael was beaten, in an incident police believe was linked.

He is due to appear before magistrates in the town tomorrow morning.