Hundreds of rioters who brought chaos to Dublin in the aftermath of an attack in which three children were stabbed, are criminals “filled with hate”, the Irish prime minister said as details of the knifeman’s identity emerged.
“Those involved brought shame on Dublin, brought shame on Ireland and brought shame on their families and themselves,” said Leo Varadkar, describing the rioters as “criminals”.
The knife attacker, who has not been named, stabbed the three young children as they left their primary school in central Dublin at around lunchtime on Thursday.
Irish media said the man, who was also injured, is an Irish citizen who had lived in the country for several years but was not born there.
He had been living at various addresses in Dublin over the past few years, according to the Irish Independent. Police have not commented on his nationality.
Police have so far arrested 34 people after a night of rioting in which shops were looted and vehicles set on fire. It was the worst violence in Dublin for decades.
Rumours on social media about the nationality of the assailant, who police only described as a man in his 50s, fuelled the unrest. Several police officers were injured, one seriously.
So far, 34 people have been arrested after a night of rioting in which shops were looted and vehicles set on fire. It was the worst violence in Dublin for decades, with Mr Varadkar saying the cost would run into “the tens of millions”.
He added that further unrest in the capital was expected over the weekend.
“They [the rioters] did not do what they did because they wanted to protect Irish people,” said Mr Varadkar. “They did not do it out of any sense of patriotism, however warped.
“They did so because they’re filled with hate. They love violence. They love chaos, and they love causing pain to others.”
He said the government would use the “full resources of the law, the full machinery of the state to punish those involved in yesterday’s grotesque events”.
Ireland would modernise laws regarding hate and incitement and pass new laws to enable police to make better use of CCTV evidence, he added.
Police in Dublin also received two water cannon from the Police Service of Northern Ireland on Friday, to be used in the events of any further riots or violent protests.
A five-year-old girl suffered serious injuries in the stabbing attack and is in a critical condition. Two other children and a woman who tried to protect them were also injured and taken to hospital.
Around 400 officers, including many in riot gear, were deployed throughout the centre of Dublin to tackle the unrest after the stabbing.
Drew Harris, the Garda Commissioner, said: “What we saw last night was an extraordinary outbreak of violence. These are scenes that we have not seen in decades.”
More than a dozen shops had been damaged or looted and the “riotous mob” had caused “huge destruction”, he said.
Mr Harris said police had not ruled out any motive, including whether the attack might have been terrorism-related.
On Friday, the president of Sinn Fein called for the resignation of Mr Harris and Helen McEntee, the minister for justice, over the police response.
Mary Lou McDonald said: “People for a long time have not felt safe in Dublin city centre and elsewhere. There has not been a proper response from government or from the Garda Siochana, and that means that those responsible for those failures have to face the consequences of their failures.”
Defending the commissioner in the face of criticism about the speed of the police response, Micheal Martin, Ireland’s deputy prime minister, said officers were on the scene quickly and dealt with a difficult situation.
A heavy police presence remained in Dublin throughout Friday, with dozens of police stationed on O’Connell Street. Several schools in the capital’s north inner city, where Thursday’s stabbing took place, reportedly shut early to ensure the safety of pupils.
Many shops and businesses in the city centre, including Arnotts, Ireland’s oldest department store, which was looted in the riots, closed their doors early so their staff could get home safely.
"filled" - Google News
November 25, 2023 at 01:05AM
https://ift.tt/UCpwSTi
Rioters who rampaged in Dublin after school stabbing 'filled with hate', says Varadkar - The Telegraph
"filled" - Google News
https://ift.tt/p9QqTya
https://ift.tt/ehrkY3I
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Rioters who rampaged in Dublin after school stabbing 'filled with hate', says Varadkar - The Telegraph"
Post a Comment