The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) vowed to increase its presence on the British province's streets after footage shared online of Monday night's incident drew shock, condemnation and demands for immediate demonstrations on Tuesday evening.
Tensions have already been heightened in Britain following violent skirmishes last week in Southampton, southern England, over the police handling of the murder of a young white student stabbed to death by a British Sikh man.
The video from Belfast shows a man straddling another man lying in a street and slashing him several times in the head and neck with a knife, in what far-right figures claimed was an attempted beheading.
Several people can then be seen intervening, one wielding a hurling stick, and tackling the perpetrator as police arrive.
The PSNI said the man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder was in his 30s, Sudanese and in the UK legally, after initially disclosing he was believed to be Somali.
Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said the force had "no information to suggest that this was a terrorist-related incident".
The victim, a man in his 40s, "was taken to hospital with significant injuries to his eyes and serious slash wound injuries to his back and face," he told reporters.
Officers recovered what is believed to be a kitchen knife at the scene, Henderson confirmed.
'Fear to anger'
A 31-year-old mother-of-one who lives nearby said the incident had terrified the neighbourhood. "We're just living in fear now," she told AFP.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the incident "horrific" and "sickening" on X.
The leaders of Northern Ireland's five main political parties issued a joint statement condemning the incident, saying "there is no place in our society for this kind of brutality".
"We call for calm and for space to allow justice to take its course," it added.
The leaders and police urged people not to share the video, noting its "graphic nature would only serve to retraumatise those involved".
But numerous social media accounts linked to so-called "patriots" were sharing the footage, urging people to "protest against mass immigration into their communities".
And US tech billionaire Elon Musk retweeted a post by anti-immigration activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon -- also known as Tommy Robinson -- adding: "Only by protesting REPEATEDLY and LOUDLY will there be any change!!".
Police in Northern Ireland appealed for 'space' to carry out a full investigation © PAUL FAITH / AFP Henderson said he understood people were "feeling a range of emotions, from fear to anger".
"Our officers have a role to facilitate and accommodate peaceful protest," he said, while cautioning against a repeat of more than a week of racially-motivated riots last June.
That followed two Romanian teenagers being charged with the alleged attempted rape of a schoolgirl in Ballymena, northwest of Belfast. The charges were later dropped "on evidential grounds".
"No one needs to see a repeat of this," Henderson said. "This only causes damage to local communities ... so I appeal for calm and the safety of all of our communities."
'Implications'
The UK interior ministry confirmed the Sudanese suspect entered the country in 2023 and acquired refugee status the same year, allowing him to remain until 2028.
PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher told reporters the man had first travelled from Sudan to the French capital Paris, before flying to Dublin and then taking a bus to Belfast.
"There is no trace of this suspect on any of our national security databases, and he was not known to the Police Service of Northern Ireland," he said.
Henderson had earlier said the suspect lived near the scene of the attack.
Northern Irish MP Gavin Robinson, from the pro-UK Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), said in parliament the incident "will have profound implications for community cohesion in this country".
He urged the government to "recognise that uncontrolled immigration needs to end".
Immigration has become a hot-button issue in Britain, and helped fuel the rise of the hard-right Reform UK party in the polls.
Some social media accounts posted numerous Northern Irish locations where protests were planned late Tuesday, noting businesses had been urged to close from 5:30 pm (1630 GMT).
Yaxley-Lennon also shared posts urging demonstrations in dozens of mainland UK towns and cities.
Some of those saw violent disorder at anti-immigration protests last year, primarily targeting hotels used to house asylum seekers.
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