Man appears in court charged with Dublin stabbing attacks that left five-year-old girl in critical condition in hospital
21 December 2023, 15:35
A man has appeared in court charged with stabbing three children and a woman in Dublin.
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Riad Bouchaker, of no fixed abode, was charged with the attempted murder of two female children and one male child.
He was also charged with the assault causing serious harm to a care worker.
Bouchaker was also charged with three counts of assault causing harm as well as the possession and production of a 36cm kitchen knife.
The attacks, which took place on November 23, sparked riots in the city centre that authorities attributed to far-right troublemakers.
He was arrested at 12.51pm that day, Detective Sergeant Padraig Cleary told the court. He also provided details of the charges and cautions.
Five-year-old girl receiving emergency care after attack in Dublin injures five
Bouchaker spoke only via the Arabic interpreter, and wore a green jacket, black top, green trousers and slippers.
He was remanded in custody at Cloverhill prison to appear again at Cloverhill District Court via videolink on December 28.
A list of medication was provided to the prison and Judge Smith ordered he receive any necessary medical attention.
The judge also ordered the defendant's legal team cannot be identified by the media due to "safety concerns".
A five-year-old girl and a woman in her 30s were left in a critical condition in hospital after the attack near a school on November 23.
Two other young children, a five-year-old boy and six-year-old girl, were also injured.
Buses and trams burned in Dublin riots after children injured in knife attack
The stabbings Bouchaker is accused of saw unprecedented riots break out across Dublin.
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.
