Man, 50, appears in court charged with Dublin knife attack

by · Mail Online

A man has appeared in court charged with the attempted murder of three children and assault of a care worker in a horrific Dublin knife attack last month.

Riad Bouchaker, 50, was charged with the attempted murder of two girls and one boy following the incident in Parnell Square East on November 23. 

At Dublin District Court, Bouchaker, of no fixed abode, was also charged with the assault causing serious harm to a care worker.

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. Two other young children, a five-year-old boy and six-year-old girl, were also injured.

Bouchaker was further charged with three counts of assault causing harm as well as the possession or production of a 14-inch kitchen knife.

Irish Gardai closed off Parnell Square following the stabbing where the suspect was arrested 
Riots broke out in Dublin hours after the horrifying attack in Parnell Square East on November 23

Riots broke out in the Irish capital hours after the attack, in an incident that has put pressure on the government and Garda Commissioner about safety and policing in Ireland.

Detective Sergeant Padraig Cleary told the court that Bouchaker was arrested at 12.51pm on Thursday and provided details of the charges and cautions.

Wearing a green jacket, black top, green trousers and slippers, Bouchaker spoke only to the Arabic interpreter.

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'.

Following the knife attack, a nursery worker, a Deliveroo driver, an autistic child and a teenager were hailed as the 'heroes' of Dublin for intervening.

Alan Loren-Guille, a French high school student, had been working at his internship in a Dublin restaurant when the shocking incident unfolded just after 1.30pm.

Hero Deliveroo rider Caio Benicio from Brazil tackled the knifeman outside Gaelscoil Cholaiste Mhuire on Parnell Square

Hero Deliveroo rider Caio Benicio (pictured) from Brazil tackled the attacker outside Gaelscoil Cholaiste Mhuire on Parnell Square
Debris is cleared from a burned out Luas and bus on O'Connell Street in Dublin in the aftermath of the attack
Flowers lie on the street next to the school, following a stabbing that sparked outrage
Gardai closed off Parnell Square following the stabbing where the suspect was arrested 

As the knifeman allegedly attacked the children in Dublin's Parnell Square, Alan, from Ardennes, bravely intervened to disarm him.

Deliveroo driver Caio Benicio, 43, also helped halt the attack, using his helmet to hit the man - saying 'I didn't have time to be afraid, I just acted'.

Heroic father Warren Donohoe rushed to tackle the alleged attacker and tried to pull the knife from him as his daughter rushed to the nearby Rotunda to get help.

Garrett FitzGerald said his son, six, was also present at the square but he was saved by his brave care worker who 'stepped in front' of children at a school outing to protect them during the bloody rampage.

Around 500 thugs fought running battles with riot cops, looted shops and torched a double-decker bus in anger over the attack.

Pictures from the Irish capital at the time showed council workers removing the wrecks of burned-out buses and cars in a major clean up operation which was condemned by the Irish government.