Violent riots have erupted in Dublin after unconfirmed reports that a foreign national was responsible for a random stabbing attack on three children on Thursday that left a five-year-old girl fighting for life.
Protesters torched multiple vehicles, looted stores and clashed with police near the site of the attack on Thursday night. Footage also appeared to show a hotel, which according to unconfirmed reports was housing migrants, being set ablaze by protesters.
Police chief Drew Harris condemned the “disgraceful scenes” — which he blamed on a “hooligan faction driven by far-right ideology” — and warned against spreading “misinformation”.
Irish MMA star Conor McGregor, who has voiced anti-immigration sentiments in recent days, said the police chief’s response was “not good enough”.
“There is grave danger among us in Ireland that should never be here in the first place, and there has been zero action done to support the public in any way, shape or form with this frightening fact,” he wrote on X.
Large crowds chanting “get them out” and “shame on you” descended on Parnell Square in the heart of the Irish capital, video showed, after claims spread on social media that the suspect was an Algerian national.
Sky News Ireland correspondent Stephen Murphy said there had been a number of police officers injured in the rioting but it was unclear how many.
“We don’t know how many arrests have ensued from the violence we’ve seen here — some of the worst violence I’ve seen in Dublin for many years,” he said.
“I’m not in a position to confirm the specific details of any of the individuals involved in this incident,” Superintendent Liam Geraghty with the Garda Siochana police said at an earlier media conference, when asked if the man was an Irish national.
Irish media and eyewitnesses reported that a man armed with a knife had stabbed the victims outside the primary school shortly after 1.30pm (12.30am AEDT).
The five-year-old girl was rushed to hospital in a critical condition after reportedly being stabbed in the neck. Four other people — a five-year-old boy, a six-year-old girl, a female adult victim in her 30s and the suspected attacker in his 50s — were also taken to hospital.
Police declared a major incident and threw up a cordon around the area but said they did not suspect a terror motive.
Witnesses told how a man had been disarmed and Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said a suspect had been arrested.
The female victim, reportedly a creche worker caring for the children, has been hailed as a hero after she stepped in to stop the attacker, suffering serious stab injuries to her body.
“This all happened in a matter of seconds and after her very brave actions another two children suffered superficial stabbing injuries to their chest and shoulder in what was a frenzied incident,” a source told the Belfast Telegraph.
“She defended those children with all her strength — all that she was doing was trying to protect those little kids and people in what is a very built up area in the city centre saw what was happening when they passed the school.”
https://www.news.com.au/world/europ...d/news-story/b60d5dfa8715c64ff41aa67bbf55a16b
Protesters torched multiple vehicles, looted stores and clashed with police near the site of the attack on Thursday night. Footage also appeared to show a hotel, which according to unconfirmed reports was housing migrants, being set ablaze by protesters.
Police chief Drew Harris condemned the “disgraceful scenes” — which he blamed on a “hooligan faction driven by far-right ideology” — and warned against spreading “misinformation”.
Irish MMA star Conor McGregor, who has voiced anti-immigration sentiments in recent days, said the police chief’s response was “not good enough”.
“There is grave danger among us in Ireland that should never be here in the first place, and there has been zero action done to support the public in any way, shape or form with this frightening fact,” he wrote on X.
Large crowds chanting “get them out” and “shame on you” descended on Parnell Square in the heart of the Irish capital, video showed, after claims spread on social media that the suspect was an Algerian national.
Sky News Ireland correspondent Stephen Murphy said there had been a number of police officers injured in the rioting but it was unclear how many.
“We don’t know how many arrests have ensued from the violence we’ve seen here — some of the worst violence I’ve seen in Dublin for many years,” he said.
“I’m not in a position to confirm the specific details of any of the individuals involved in this incident,” Superintendent Liam Geraghty with the Garda Siochana police said at an earlier media conference, when asked if the man was an Irish national.
Irish media and eyewitnesses reported that a man armed with a knife had stabbed the victims outside the primary school shortly after 1.30pm (12.30am AEDT).
The five-year-old girl was rushed to hospital in a critical condition after reportedly being stabbed in the neck. Four other people — a five-year-old boy, a six-year-old girl, a female adult victim in her 30s and the suspected attacker in his 50s — were also taken to hospital.
Police declared a major incident and threw up a cordon around the area but said they did not suspect a terror motive.
Witnesses told how a man had been disarmed and Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said a suspect had been arrested.
The female victim, reportedly a creche worker caring for the children, has been hailed as a hero after she stepped in to stop the attacker, suffering serious stab injuries to her body.
“This all happened in a matter of seconds and after her very brave actions another two children suffered superficial stabbing injuries to their chest and shoulder in what was a frenzied incident,” a source told the Belfast Telegraph.
“She defended those children with all her strength — all that she was doing was trying to protect those little kids and people in what is a very built up area in the city centre saw what was happening when they passed the school.”
https://www.news.com.au/world/europ...d/news-story/b60d5dfa8715c64ff41aa67bbf55a16b
