Peter Murphy Agence France-Presse A police car and at least one Buses were notably set on fire Thursday evening in Dublin and the police were targeted by projectiles from a crowd which was also hostile towards “the mainstream media”.
Violent clashes attributed to the far right broke out Thursday evening in Dublin after a knife attack which left several people injured in the middle of the day, including three children, in which the police ruled out any terrorist motive.
Several vehicles, including a police car and a bus, were set on fire and stores were looted, an AFP journalist noted.
“Irish Lives Matter” signs “) and Irish flags were brandished during these unprecedented incidents for several years, in which hundreds or even thousands of people took part, according to the same source.
They broke out in a neighborhood where there is an immigrant population, and against a backdrop of rumors about the origin of the alleged attacker, who the police simply indicated was a man in his fifties. years, who was hospitalized.
The police were targeted by projectiles from a crowd which was also hostile towards “the mainstream media”.
Around 10 p.m. local time (5 p.m. Montreal time), police reported that the streets of downtown Dublin were now “mostly calm.”
“We will not tolerate a few using appalling facts to sow division,” Justice Minister Helen McEntee said in a statement, calling for “calm.”
She further warned that attacks against the police must be “condemned” and will be treated “severely”.
“Rumours” and “insinuations”
A Police chief, Commissioner Drew Harris, called it a “faction of crazy hooligans driven by far-right ideology.”
The facts that occurred at the very beginning of the afternoon, where a woman and a little girl were seriously injured, “are not yet clear,” he stressed, deploring widespread “rumors” and “insinuations.” for malicious purposes.”
“Irish people are being attacked by these scum,” said one individual during the clashes, others in the crowd evoking the murder of a young teacher by a Slovak national who was recently sentenced to life in prison.
Faced with a housing crisis, the country has seen the development under the influence of far-right figures of an anti-immigration discourse according to which “Ireland is full”.
According to the first elements of investigation, a man attacked several people around 1:30 p.m. (8:30 a.m. in Quebec), said Liam Geraghty, local police official.
A suspect has been arrested, announced Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar. According to the police, it concerns a man in his fifties, who was hospitalized.
The police are not looking for “anyone else”, declared Liam Geraghty, stressing that the investigators ruled out, in view of the first elements of the investigation, any “terrorist” motive.
“It seems to be an isolated attack for which we must determine the reasons,” he said. he declared, referring to the use of a knife. “But we are unable to provide additional information on the nature of the injuries,” he added.
The events occurred near a school, according to Irish media.
The five injured were transported to several hospitals in the Dublin area, police said.
“Isolated attack”
“We are all shocked by the events that occurred in Parnell Square,” the Irish Prime Minister said in a statement, sending “thoughts and prayers” to the victims and their families.
The injured are a woman, three young children and a man, who according to some media is the suspect. A five-year-old girl and the woman, aged around 30, are “seriously” injured, according to police.
A five-year-old boy was able to leave the hospital, according to police. same source.
“Without thinking, I crossed the street to help,” Siobhan Kearney, a witness to the scene, told Irish media RTE.
According to her account, The attacker was disarmed, notably with the help of a young man. “Another man took the knife and put it aside” so it could be handed over to the police, she said.
Mary Lou McDonald, the leader of Sinn Féin, third political force in the Irish Parliament, said she was “horrified” by the facts, and indicated that she had spoken with the head of the establishment named Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire, to whom she expressed her support for the educational community .
Ms McDonald further expressed her “solidarity” with the families of the victims and praised the rapid response of the police.