The streets of Dublin are in a state of unrest following a shocking stabbing incident outside an elementary school allegedly carried out by an Algerian migrant.
The assailant stabbed three children and two adults, leaving a five-year-old girl and a woman in her 30s seriously injured.
Irish police say a man in his 50s, who was also hospitalized with serious injuries, is a “person of interest.” The motive is not known at this time.
Irish citizens furious over the nation’s immigration policy have taken to the streets in the aftermath of the horrific scene. One video reportedly shows an immigration centre being set on fire with a flaming dumpster.
Other videos show protesters shooting fireworks at police, and one police car being set ablaze.
Irish Garda commissioner Drew Harris condemned the rioters, calling them “far-right” and “disgraceful.”
Ireland has faced a wave of anti-immigrant protests since 2022 with social media hashtags such as #IrelandisFull, #IrelandSaysNO, #IrelandForTheIrish and #MakeIrelandSafeAgain being used.
As of March, Ireland is housing about 74,000 asylum applicants, which has risen by about 68,000 since the previous year.
Bystanders took the stabber down before he could attack more
The attack unfolded at approximately 1:30 pm on November 23 as pupils exited the four-storey Georgian building on Parnell Square East.
Bystanders reportedly tackled the man down before he could do more damage.
“People were trying to attack the man. So me and an American lady formed a ring around him saying we’d wait on the garda,” Siobhan Kearney, a witness at the scene, told Irish media.
“Two children and the woman were taken back into the school where they were coming from. It was absolutely bedlam,” she added.
