Hot water attack victim is brother of murder accused

A man who suffered serious burns after having a kettle of boiling water thrown over him at a courthouse is the brother of a man accused of murder.

The incident happened shortly before 11:00 BST on Thursday at Strabane Courthouse, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said.

A committal hearing in the case of Dylan McCrossan, who is accused of the murder of Stephen Holmes in February 2025, had been due to be heard on Thursday morning.

The McCrossan family solicitor Ciarán Shiels told BBC News NI the man attacked is a brother of the accused and had been standing in a courthouse waiting area at the time of the attack.

Shiels, who was in the courthouse on Thursday morning, said the attacker had brought a kettle of boiling water from another area of the courthouse.

"The attacker had come down the stairs carrying a kettle of boiling water and poured the entire kettle over the victim."

Shiels added: "He is extremely badly burned to the head, the neck and to his shoulders".

The victim was initially taken to Altnagelvin Hospital in Londonderry, the solicitor said, before being transferred to Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital.

Both the murder accused and the man injured on Thursday morning are brothers of Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) assembly member Daniel McCrossan.

The PSNI said the suspect ran away from the scene and police are trying to identify, locate and apprehend him, adding officers are working with the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service.

Detectives have appealed to the public for information.