Dubliners riot after stabbing injures three children

Irish police arrested 34 people for riots Thursday night in Dublin. The riots had erupted in response to a stabbing incident earlier that afternoon that injured five people. Three children had been among the injured, with one girl in serious condition. A school care assistant was also injured in the stabbing attack. A male suspect attacked the children and a teacher outside a primary school. A delivery driver subdued the alleged attacker, who is now hospitalized in critical condition.

How bad was the rioting? A riot broke out near the scene later in the evening when 50 anti-immigrant protesters broke through a police barrier that sealed off the area around the crime scene. A larger crowd began to throw objects and shoot fireworks at police, ultimately destroying 11 police vehicles, three buses, and a tram. Rioters also looted 13 shops. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar estimated over 500 were involved in the chaos, resulting in 400 officers being deployed in riot gear. Varadkar condemned rioters as being motivated by hate, not patriotism.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read about IRA-Unionist troubles in Northern Ireland.