Protests degenerated into rioting in Ireland's largest city on Thursday night after a knife attack lead to the apprehension of an Algerian man, described as a naturalized Irish citizen.
The attack left three people at a Dublin primary school with severe injuries. A 5-year-old girl and a childcare worker in her 30s were critically injured. The perpetrator sustained injuries when a Brazilian delivery driver smashed him on the head with a bicycle helmet.
Rioting broke out hours later as rumors of the attacker's identity went viral. Video from the city center shows torched vehicles, looted storefronts and riot-gear clad officers. Police arrested 34 agitators out of an estimated 500 protesters.
The Daily Wire reports:
Following the attack, reports began spreading on social media that the suspect was a foreign national, and anti-immigration protesters flooded the streets of Dublin, according to The Daily Mail. Rioters reportedly ransacked a Foot Locker, a Holiday Inn Express hotel, and a McDonald's in the city. Video showed looters breaking into buildings as fires raged on streets and police confronted the rioters.
Drew Harris, the chief of Ireland's national police — also known as Garda — called the rioters “a complete lunatic hooligan faction driven by far-right ideology,” adding that a police officer was seriously injured in the clashes.
“We are drafting in resources to deal with that and that will be dealt with properly,” Harris said. “I've given full direction to our resources here in respect of making arrests and bringing offenders to justice.”
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar called the rioters “criminals,” trying to undermine “our society and the rule of law.” On X, Mary Lou McDonald, leader of the center-left opposition party, posted that her constituents were traumatized twice in 24 hours, first “by the barbaric knife attack on young children and their teacher, and then by marauding racist mobs who ran riot on our streets.”
“Our community does not feel safe – Has not felt safe for some time now. This must change,” she noted.
The suspect is recovering from his injuries at a nearby hospital while under armed guard. Authorities say they will question him as soon as he's sufficiently recovered.
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