Ireland Stabbing Suspect—What We Know as Dublin Riots

Irish police are questioning an Algerian man suspected of stabbing a woman and three children outside a school, in an attack that sparked a night of furious riots, looting and anti-immigrant protests in Dublin.

The Irish Times reported that the suspect is believed to be "a naturalized Irish citizen, who has lived here for 20 years."

A woman and a five-year-old girl he allegedly stabbed are in a serious condition in hospital. A 43-year-old Brazilian Deliveroo driver, Caio Benicio, was widely praised for jumping off his moped and knocking the man over the head with his helmet. Other people rushed forward to grab the knife.

Siobhan Kearney, who witnessed the stabbing, said the scene was "absolutely bedlam."
"Without thinking, I just took across the road to help out," she told Irish national broadcaster RTE. "We got another young man, disarmed [the attacker] with the knife, another man took the knife and put it away for the [police] to find it."

Kearney said a group of people restrained the suspect on the ground, as some of those injured were taken back inside the school. One Irish woman and one American woman stood in front of the suspect to stop people from beating him. A photo at the scene shows the middle-aged suspect with blood in his mouth lying on the ground.

The attack occurred at an Irish language primary school, Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire, shortly after 1 p.m. on Thursday on Parnell Square East, in Dublin's north inner city, an area with a large number of low-income housing projects.

Irish police, known as gardaí, are still establishing if the attacker is mentally ill or if he was motivated by political or racial hate. Police Commissioner Drew Harris refused to rule out the possibility that the stabbing attack was terror-related.

The fact that a man attacked a school run through the Irish, or Gaelic, language helped fuel an outpouring of rage that saw anti-immigrant riots, lootings and arson in the hours that followed. Police struggled to contain the crowds, who attacked them on the street, and burned a hotel housing asylum seekers as well as a tram, a double decker bus and a police car.

Liam Geraghty, a superintendent with the Irish police, told reporters that he does not believe the attacker was politically motivated.

"We believe that this is a standalone incident, not necessarily connected to any wider issues that are ongoing in the country or in the city, and we need to identify the exact reasons for that happening. So we'd ask for people not to jump to conclusions and not to make rash judgments on what may have happened."

Geraghty said a total of five people were taken to Dublin hospitals.

"These casualties include three young children, an adult female and an adult male.
"One girl, aged five years, has sustained serious injuries and is currently receiving emergency medical treatment in CHI Temple Street."

He added that a five-year-old boy and six-year-old girl were treated for less serious injuries.

Geraghty said the boy has since been discharged from a children's hospital, and that the woman in her 30s is being treated for serious injuries at the Mater Hospital in Dublin's north inner city. The man "is also being treated for serious injuries at a hospital in the Dublin region," he said.

Geraghty said that a man in his 40s is a person of interest and police are not looking for any other suspect.

There have been ongoing protests across Ireland against asylum centers amid a housing crisis. Many hotels and guest houses have been converted to asylum accommodation, leading to protests by people in towns affected by lower tourist income.

In late October, Ireland's Taoiseach, or prime minister, Leo Varadkar, said that the country had reached the limit of the number of asylum seekers and refugees it could accept.

On Thursday evening, Irish President Michael D. Higgins said that the stabbings should not be used by Ireland's far-right to stir up trouble.

"All of our thoughts are with each of the children and their families affected by today's horrific attack outside Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire in Dublin city center," he said. "We are particularly thinking of the 5 year old girl and the member of staff caring for her who are both in serious condition in hospital. All of our prayers are with each of them for a full recovery.

"The Gardaí deserve all of our support in dealing with this incident. This appalling incident is a matter for the Gardaí and that it would be used or abused by groups with an agenda that attacks the principle of social inclusion is reprehensible and deserves condemnation by all those who believe in the rule of law and democracy."