Knife attacker lashes out in Dublin
A man stabs himself in front of an elementary school in the center of Dublin. A woman and three children are taken to hospital with injuries, some of them serious. Passers-by react quickly and disarm the suspect. The police do not suspect a terrorist motive. Riots break out in the streets.
Five people, including three children, were injured in a knife attack in the center of the Irish capital Dublin. According to the police, a man in his 50s was among the injured. He was taken to hospital after his arrest. Investigators ruled out an act of terrorism. Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar expressed his "shock" at the attack, which according to media reports took place outside an elementary school.
"It appears to be an isolated act, the reasons for which we need to establish," said Liam Geraghty from the Irish police at a press conference. He did not believe that there was a terrorist background at present. According to Geraghty, the suspect is a man in his fifties. The police had previously made it clear that they were not looking for any other suspects. According to local media, the knife attack took place in the afternoon outside an elementary school in the center of Dublin. According to the police, the five injured were taken to various hospitals in the capital region.
A five-year-old girl suffered serious injuries and is currently receiving emergency medical treatment. According to the police, a woman was also seriously injured. The other injured are two other children and a man in his fifties who is considered a "person of interest" in the crime. According to the police, one of the injured children, a five-year-old boy, has already been allowed to leave the hospital.
Passer-by disarms attacker
"We are all shocked by what has happened," said Prime Minister Varadkar. His "thoughts and prayers" are with the injured and their families. The Prime Minister praised the fact that emergency services were on the scene very quickly after the attack. The scene was cordoned off.
Eyewitness Siobhan Kearney told Irish public broadcaster RTE that she and others rushed to help the victims of the attack. "Without thinking, I crossed the road to help," she said. It was mainly thanks to the efforts of a young man that the attacker was disarmed. "Another man took the knife and put it away," said Kearney. Until the police arrived, many people had made sure that the attacker, who was lying on the ground, did not flee.
Following the incident, there were serious public disturbances and clashes between right-wing groups and the police in Dublin. According to the "Irish Times", Justice Minister Helen McEntee appealed to people on the streets to remain calm. There was talk of hooligans on the BBC: Officers used batons and several police cars were on fire. Rumors had previously spread on social networks that the attacker was an Algerian migrant. The police did not confirm this.
Source: www.ntv.de
