Man convicted of attempted murder in Dublin school knife attack

A Dublin jury found Riad Bouchaker guilty on all eight charges over the Parnell Square school knife attack that injured five people and helped trigger violent disorder in the city centre. The verdict came at the Central Criminal Court after the nine-man, three-woman jury considered the case arising from the attack outside Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire in Dublin 1.

Bouchaker, 52, of no fixed address, had denied three counts of attempting to murder children and the remaining charges of assaulting four other people. The attack happened shortly after 1.30pm on 23 November 2023 on Parnell Square East, where three children and two adults were injured. Gardaí said at the time they were treating it as a serious assault and were not in a position to give further details in the immediate aftermath, while five casualties were taken to hospitals.

Among the injured adults was childcare worker Leanne Flynn, who tried to protect the children during the attack. The most seriously injured child, who was five years old at the time, was stabbed in the heart and has been left with a life-long, life-limiting severe disability requiring 24-hour care.

The attack triggered the 2023 Dublin riot, when major unrest spread through the city centre on the same day. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said on 23 November 2023 that he was shocked by the incident and was thinking of the victims and their families. He later condemned the rioters, saying they had brought shame on Dublin and Ireland.