A 15-year-old girl accused in connection with the murder of an elderly greengrocer was remanded in custody today amid fears for her safety.
The teenager, who cannot be identified, was charged with affray and assault occasioning actual bodily harm against west Belfast man Harry Holland. Mr Holland, 65, was stabbed in the head with a screwdriver as he tried to stop his van being stolen on Tuesday night. He died a day later.
As detectives continued to question two 17-year-old boys about the killing, the girl appeared at Belfast Youth Court.
A bail application by her defence lawyer was rejected by Magistrate Amanda Henderson after police warned of a risk to the girl's wellbeing if she was freed.
The accused, who made no reply when the two charges were put to her, was remanded in custody to appear again at the same court next month.
Earlier, Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams claimed police were warned thugs armed with knives had been menacing parts of west Belfast days before Mr Holland was killed.
Mr Adams spoke out after meeting senior officers to express public concern at how the force has handled the alleged threat on the streets.
The West Belfast MP said: "The best way I can put it is there was a killing waiting to happen."
The murder of Mr Holland, a well-known businessman, close to his Norfolk Drive home has outraged the city. Hundreds of people attended a vigil last night, where relatives said the heart
had been ripped out of their family.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland had declared that their investigation was progressing well, with valuable information coming from the west Belfast public who, until Sinn Fein endorsed the criminal justice arrangements, have not always had full confidence in the force.
But today Mr Adams revealed he was waiting for a response after putting community concerns to senior officers.
He said: "It's been reported to Sinn Fein by a number of constituents that, in the period preceding the murder of Harry Holland, information was given to the PSNI about a number of well-known criminals who had been involved in several incidents of anti-social behaviour and who were carrying knives."
Mr Adams added that earlier this summer he handed police a file with the details of local criminals. As yet there has been a failure to deal with the thugs, he claimed.