Violent clashes break out in Dublin after knife attack that injured 3 children, one seriously
CTV
Violent clashes broke out in central Dublin on Thursday evening 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.
Violent clashes broke out in central Dublin on Thursday evening 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 centre to contain the unrest, which they said was "caused by a small group of thugs."
Police with shields fended off people attempting to kick and punch them while flares and fireworks were fired at the police cordon around the scene of the incident. 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 transport in the city was suspended.
"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.
