Irish police have arrested a man after he allegedly stabbed four people, three of them children under six years old, at a school in Dublin on Thursday. The incident provoked angry protests on the streets of the city, as rumors circulated that the perpetrator was a foreign national.
One adult woman and three children were injured in the rampage, which took place at an Irish-language school in the center of the city. One of the children, a five-year-old girl, was taken to a nearby hospital with serious injuries, while two others – a five-year-old boy and six-year-old girl – were treated for less serious wounds, the Irish Times reported.
The attacker was restrained at the scene by members of the public and arrested shortly afterwards, according to local media reports. He was also taken to a hospital for treatment, and was described by police as an adult male in his 50s.
While police provided no further information about the man or his potential motive, Gript, a right-wing news site, described him as an Algerian national, citing police sources.
As a description of the suspect as Algerian spread on social media, crowds of protesters assembled near the scene, where the demonstration soon devolved into clashes between riot police and hooded rioters. At least one police vehicle was set on fire, and multiple officers were assaulted, RTE News reported.
Police commissioner Drew Harris condemned the vandals as “a complete lunatic hooligan faction driven by far right ideology.”