PlayStation 2 sparks street violence

A dispute over the alleged theft of a PlayStation 2 escalated into a skirmish between armed gangs in the streets of Ballymena, Northern Ireland, last weekend, according to a report in Ballymena Today.

The violence touched off on Friday night, the article states, as "large numbers" of police arrived in the town center area and found a crowd of people, several of whom had been injured in a fight. The police made arrests and confiscated a number of weapons from the scene, including a samurai sword and a table leg. Later that night, a petrol bomb (commonly known in the US as a Molotov cocktail) was thrown at a home in the area.

The weekend ended in much the same way it began, as another home had a number of windows broken and was the target of another petrol bomb. The bomb caused minor damage and one person was treated for smoke inhalation, Ballymena Today reports.

Two men face criminal charges as a result of the weekend violence, one for possession of an offensive weapon, the other for disorderly behavior and resisting arrest. A third man was reported for disorderly behavior.

"It would appear that this has started from the alleged theft of a PlayStation," police commander Terry Shevlin told the paper. "There was a very real threat and likelihood that this was going to escalate. It was understood that people from other parts of the Province were coming to Ballymena to provide backup to the families...I understand that third parties are attempting to mediate between the families and hopefully that will defuse the situation."