A 52-year-old man has been found guilty of trying to murder three children in a knife attack that left a five-year-old girl with a life-long brain injury and sparked destructive riots across Dublin. Riad Bouchaker, of no fixed address, was convicted at the Central Criminal Court on Wednesday after a jury deliberated for around six hours. He was found guilty on all eight charges, including the attempted murder of two girls aged five and six and a five-year-old boy, as well as assault causing serious harm to crèche worker Leanne Flynn and assaulting two other children and a teenager.
Bouchaker launched his attack on 23 November 2023 in Parnell Square after becoming upset when he failed to secure social welfare payments, the three-week trial heard. He went to his hostel on Little Britain Street, armed himself with a 36cm carving knife, and made his way to the square, asking several people if they knew where a school was. Jurors were told he loitered for about an hour before spotting 13 primary school students aged five and six lining up to be taken to an after-school crèche. He stood at a bus stop in front of the children for one minute and 40 seconds until the only other adult nearby, Leanne Flynn, crouched down to zip up a child's coat. Bouchaker then removed the knife from a rucksack strapped to his chest, moved quickly towards a little girl, and stabbed her in the chest, perforating the right ventricle of her heart. Flynn dragged him away but suffered a stab wound to her back. Bouchaker continued his attack on the children until passers-by intervened and knocked or dragged him to the ground.
“Riad Bouchaker found guilty of attempting to murder three children in Dublin knife attack that left a five-year-old girl with life-long brain injury.”
The five-year-old girl suffered brain damage due to blood loss and is now non-verbal, uses a wheelchair, and cannot swallow safely, requiring lifelong care. Another girl had an 8cm gash to the top of her head and lost a fragment of skull. The other children suffered what were described as superficial wounds. Flynn required surgery to remove her spleen and repair her diaphragm, remaining in hospital for one month.
Within hours of the attack, rioting broke out across Dublin. Rioters destroyed 11 police vehicles, badly damaged 13 shops, looted more, and destroyed three buses and a tram during three hours of sustained violence. Several police officers were injured. The most riot police in Irish state history were deployed. Ireland's then-police chief Drew Harris blamed the rioting on a "lunatic, hooligan faction driven by a far-right ideology".
Judge Tony Hunt thanked the jury for their "hard work", saying "having to listen to some of what you heard is very difficult". He said their verdicts were "entirely in line with the evidence you heard". Sentencing has been set for 12 October, and Bouchaker will be remanded in custody until then.