Violent clashes break out in Dublin after knife attack that injured 3 kids
Violent clashes broke out in central Dublin on Thursday evening, with vehicles torched and riot police attacked, after a 5-year-old girl was seriously injured in a knife attack earlier in the day that also saw a woman and two other young children hospitalized.
Irish police said the girl was receiving emergency medical treatment in a Dublin hospital following the attack outside a school. Soon after that announcement, at least 100 people took to the streets, some armed with metal bars and covering their faces.
Police said over 400 officers including many in riot gear, were deployed in Dublin city center to contain the unrest, which they said was “caused by a small group of thugs.” A police cordon was also set up around the Irish Parliament building, Leinster House, and officers from the Mounted Support Unit were in nearby Grafton Street.
There were clashes with riot police as some demonstrators let off flares and fireworks, while others grabbed chairs and stools
outside bars and restaurants.
A number of police vehicles and a tram were damaged during the disorder, while a bus and car were also set on fire on the city's O'Connell Bridge.
Shop windows were routinely smashed and a Foot Locker store was looted. All public transport in the city — trams and buses — was suspended and many firms have urged their staff to
work from home on Friday.
“We have a complete lunatic hooligan faction driven by far-right ideology, and also then this disruptive tendency engaged in serious violence,” said Ireland's top police officer, Drew Harris.
Police and politicians called for calm and warned against misinformation over the attack earlier in the day.
“The scenes we are witnessing
this evening in our city center cannot and will not be tolerated,” said Justice Minister Helen McEntee. “A thuggish and manipulative element must not be allowed to use an appalling tragedy to wreak havoc.”
Earlier, police said a man in his 50s, who also was seriously injured, is a “person of interest” in their investigation. No other details about his identity were revealed.