DUBLIN - Three young children were among five people injured in Dublin on Nov 23 in a knife attack that sparked riots in the city centre. The police have not established any motive for the stabbing, including whether it could be terror-related.

Anti-immigrant protesters clashed with riot police at the scene of the attack beside the main thoroughfare of O’Connell Street.

A five-year-old girl received emergency treatment after sustaining serious injuries in the stabbing.

A man in his late 40s, also being treated for serious injuries, was arrested by the police who said they were not looking for any other suspect.

A woman in her 30s was also being treated for serious injuries, while the two other children, a five-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl, suffered less serious injuries. The boy has been discharged from hospital.

Public transport was suspended and people were advised not to travel to a nearby maternity hospital unless absolutely necessary.

A double-decker bus was burned to the ground on the street and windows of a nearby Holiday Inn hotel and McDonald’s restaurant were smashed. A Footlocker store was looted.

“They are disgraceful scenes. We have a complete lunatic, hooligan faction driven by far right ideology engaged in serious violence,” Police Commissioner Drew Harris told reporters after deploying 400 officers to restore public order.

A police car was also burned.

Such rioting is almost unprecedented in Dublin. There are no far right parties or politicians elected to Parliament, but small anti-immigrant protests have grown in the last year. The government is reviewing security around Parliament after a recent protest trapped lawmakers inside.

Mr Harris said all lines of inquiry related to the attack remained open, contradicting a senior officer who had earlier told reporters that police were satisfied the incident was not terror-related.

“I’m not going to speculate any further in respect of a terrorist motive. Until we’re sure what the motive is, we have to keep an open mind as to why this happened,” he said.

Police said it appeared the man attacked a number of people on Dublin’s Parnell Square shortly after 1330 GMT. Members of the public intervened at an early stage of the attack.

“There was complete and utter pandemonium – women wailing, men screaming and crying,” Mr Anthony Boyle, 31, an IT consultant who lives on the road told Reuters.

‘Appalling attack to sow division’

The scene was still sealed off at around 1800 GMT when a group of about 50 anti-immigrant protesters briefly broke through a police barrier. Some shouted “get them out” and one kicked the wing mirror off a police car. Another was draped in an Irish flag.

A larger crowd then began throwing objects and firing fireworks at riot police in helmets and shields, and the rioting spiralled out of control. The crowds began to disperse at around 2100 GMT.

Police would not reveal the nationality of the detained man.

Net migration among Ireland’s 5.3 million population rose to its second-highest level since records began in the 12 months to April and around 100,000 Ukrainian refugees have arrived since Russia’s invasion of their country. This number is among the highest per capita in the European Union.

“There is a group of people, thugs, criminals, who are using this appalling attack to sow division,” Justice Minister Helen McEntee told reporters.

“Every force possible is being used by the Gardai (police) to restore order. This will not be tolerated.” REUTERS