Five people, including three children, were taken to hospital on Thursday after a “serious incident” in Dublin, according to Irish police, which was described by local media as a knife attack.
Gardaí have cordoned off an area of Dublin’s north inner city after a serious security incident left several people, including at least one child, seriously injured. A person of interest was identified and a large knife was seized at the scene in Parnell Square East.… pic.twitter.com/LDCdlylDan
— The Irish Times (@IrishTimes) November 23, 2023
According to the Irish media RTE, the police believe that the matter is not of a terrorist nature and that the situation is under control.
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar announced that a suspect had been arrested.
According to RTE, it is a man in his 40s who was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
According to Irish media, the events occurred near a school.
The five victims were taken to several hospitals in the Irish capital region, police said.
In a press release, she assured that she was following a specific lead, the nature of which she did not specify, and reiterated that she was not looking for “anyone else.”
“We are all shocked by the events in Parnell Square,” the prime minister said in a statement, extending “thoughts and prayers” to the victims and their families.
Strong emotion
“The facts in this case are currently being clarified. The emergency services responded very quickly and were on scene within minutes,” he continued.
The victims are a man, a woman and three small children. According to police, a little girl and a woman were “seriously” injured. A security cordon was set up around the crime scene in the center of the Irish capital.
“Without thinking, I crossed the street to help,” Siobhan Kearney, a witness to the scene, told Irish media RTE.
According to him, the attacker was disarmed with the help of a young man in particular. “Another man took the knife and put it aside” so it could be turned over to police, she said.
Two children and the woman were returned to the school from which they came, she added, describing a scene of confusion.
According to her, the attacker was lying on the ground and was being held by many people.
The leader of Sinn Fein Mary Lou McDonald, the third political force in the Irish parliament, said she was “appalled” by the facts and said she had spoken to the head of the establishment Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire, with whom she spoke his support for the educational community.
She also expressed her “solidarity” with the victims’ families and praised the police’s quick response.