Violence engulfed central Dublin on Thursday evening after three children and a woman were stabbed near a school, prompting rioters to clash with the police and set cars and shops on fire.
The stabbing suspect, a man in his 40s, was also injured and being held by police at a city center hospital.
The clash happened around Dublin’s O’Connell Street, where protesters fought with police in riot gear. Transportation was severely disrupted as the rioters set fire to buses, light rail trams and police vehicles and looted at least one city-center department store. Calm was restored in the evening but a large police presence remains on the scene and some streets are closed.
“A group of people, thugs and criminals, are using this attack to wreak havoc,” Justice Minister Helen McEntee said. The head of the Irish police, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris, blamed the unrest on a “lunatic, hooligan faction driven by far-right ideology.”
The unrest began after a stabbing incident that happened around 1:30 p.m. and close to a school in the city’s north side. At least three children were among those injured with a five-year-old girl in a critical condition. Police said that no arrest has been made yet but that the suspect has been identified.
The riots appeared to have been sparked by rumors that the attacker was foreign, though no details were immediately available. Harris said in a press conference said that the violence broke out after the attack and that protesters had tried to disrupt the crime scene.
Public broadcaster RTE showed a bus set alight and graffiti with the word “Out.” The broadcaster reported that protesters had chanted anti-immigration slogans.
RTE also reported that the rioters looted a store on O’Connell Street in the city center and police confirmed that a number of sports stores were attacked and looted. There were reports of bottles were being thrown at police while rioters carrying metal bars smashed shop windows. Police confirmed that 34 people were arrested.
Calm began to be restored by 9 p.m., according to police.
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said that the “nation is shocked” by the stabbing incident, adding that he was “lost for words.” Ireland’s President Michael Higgins said in a statement that “all of our thoughts are with each of the children and their families affected by today’s horrific attack.”
--With assistance from Jack Ryan and Dara Doyle.
(Updates with riot details starting from the second paragraph, police comment in the third paragraph)
