A clean-up is underway in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, after riots broke out after three children and a woman were injured in a knife attack. A five-year-old girl is in a critical condition, a six-year-old has head injuries and a woman is seriously ill, reports RTÉ News.
The five-year-old boy has minor injuries and has been released from the hospital.
Several police officers were injured in the riots, and shops, cars and public transport vehicles were vandalized, the police said.
The stabbing happened outside Gaelscoil Cóláiste Mhuire, a primary school in the city centre, just after 1.40pm local time on Thursday. The suspect is a man in his 40s who was also seriously injured. The police added that they do not suspect anyone else at this time and that they are following the precise line of investigation. Sources told the BBC that the man suspected of carrying out the attack is an Irish citizen who has lived in the country for 20 years.
An Garda Síochána (Irish police force) chief Drew Harris told reporters on Thursday night: “We know what happened but the motive for it is completely unclear.” Riot police were deployed after riots broke out in the city center near the scene of the attack, including O’Connell Street, one of Dublin’s main shopping streets.
Harris blamed the riots on a “lunatic, hooligan faction driven by far-right ideology” who took part in the violence as police tried to secure the scene of the attack for investigations.
“There are embarrassing scenes in terms of the big investigation, the maintenance of the scene, the collection of evidence,” he said. “We ask people to act responsibly, not to listen to misinformation and rumors circulating on social networks. “The facts are being established, but they are still not clear and many rumors and innuendos are being spread for malicious purposes.”
Regarding the seriously injured girl, Harris said, “Both the child and her family are going through a terrible time.”
In a statement released late on Thursday night, Patrick McMenamin said “significant levels of public disorder, criminal damage and violence have been perpetrated by violent individuals in Dublin city centre”. He added that Thursday night’s riots were not connected to the earlier stabbing. “It was unjustified abuse,” he added.
No one is believed to be seriously injured. After the riots subsided around midnight, more than 400 police officers remained on patrol in central Dublin overnight.
Irish President Michael D Higgins condemned the attack and the riots that followed, which he said “deserve the condemnation of all those who believe in the rule of law and democracy”.
Speaking on Thursday afternoon, a witness told Irish national broadcaster RTÉ how she and another bystander disarmed the man with a knife.
Siobhan Kearney described the scene as “absolutely surreal”.
It is believed a group of young children were queuing outside the school when the man launched the knife attack. “This attack has shocked us all and I have no doubt that the person responsible will be brought to justice,” Irish Justice Minister Helen McEntee said.
“However, my thoughts are now with the innocent children and woman who were attacked, their families and those who care for them at this time.”
