Mr Frew said:
“My thoughts are first and foremost with the victim of the sexual assault with whom the community gathered to stand in solidarity with. We must never lose sight of this family’s suffering. I pay tribute to the thousands of people who came out in Ballymena to peacefully stand against violence towards women and girls.
That powerful message must not be lost or diluted by those who choose destruction over justice. I totally condemn the violence that occurred in Ballymena on Monday evening. I feared this would happen. For weeks and months, I have been warning about rising tensions, and sadly those warnings have now come true.
There is no justification for what happened. Violence is always wrong. It solves nothing and serves only to retraumatise a community. I want to thank the PSNI and NIFRS for their actions last night in what was an extremely challenging situation.
The answer always lies in the justice system, not street violence. The people responsible for recent crimes must be dealt with by the full force of the law. That is where accountability lies.”