Man guilty of attempting to murder children in Dublin stabbing that sparked mass riots
A man has been found guilty of eight charges, including three of attempted murder, for a knife attack on children in Dublin city centre that sparked mass riots across the city.
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Riad Bouchaker, 52, was found guilty at Dublin’s Central Criminal Court on Wednesday following a three-week trial.
He was charged with the attempted murder of two girls, aged five and six, and one five-year-old boy on Parnell Square East on November 23, 2023.
He was also charged with intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to care worker Leanne Flynn, with assault causing harm to two young children and a teenager, and with producing a 36cm kitchen knife.
He pleaded not guilty to all eight charges, but was found guilty on all counts.
The jury heard evidence from around 16 witnesses who described to the court what they saw of the incident, from the parents of the children at the centre of the charges; the evidence of the four witnesses of alleged prior encounters with the accused; and medics, emergency service personnel, and investigating gardaí.
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They were also shown videoed Garda interviews with Bouchaker, held in December 2023, a month after the incident.
Bouchaker's attacks, which took place on November 23, sparked riots in the city centre that authorities attributed to far-right troublemakers.
Police cars were set on fire, shops were looted and burned and fighting broke out in the streets after the stabbings.
Police blamed a ‘lunatic hooligan faction’ for the violent scenes, fuelled by speculation about the nationality of the attacker.
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said that thirty-four people had been arrested following “huge destruction by a riotous mob”.
He said there was an "element of radicalisation" in the riots, and that significant numbers of rioters attempted to breach the cordon of the crime scene.
A total of 250 public-order officers were sent into the city in what was the “largest-ever” such deployment, with 400 officers sent in total.
Dozens of people have been charged and appeared before the courts in relation to the disorder.The scenes put pressure on the Irish Government over its ability to maintain safety in the capital.