A 52-year-old man has been convicted of attempting to murder three children during a knife attack which sparked rioting and looting across Dublin city centre. Riad Bouchaker was found guilty at the city’s Central Criminal Court on Wednesday of the attempted murder of a five-year-old girl who was stabbed in the heart, and the attempted murders of a five-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl.
Victims' Injuries and Long-Term Impact
The five-year-old girl has a lifelong, life-limiting severe disability after her brain was deprived of oxygen for 40 minutes following the attack. She is non-verbal and can only communicate by blinking, uses a wheelchair, and has to be fed through a tube in her stomach as she cannot swallow safely by herself. The five-year-old boy had a laceration to his neck less than 1cm deep, which required paper stitches, while the six-year-old girl sustained an 8cm long scalp wound that required surgery.
Disorder and Public Reaction
Disorder followed the attack in November 2023, with police cars, buses, and a tram set on fire, and shops looted and ransacked, leading to a major policing operation. Bouchaker, an Algerian national and Irish citizen who has lived in Ireland for 25 years, was also convicted of intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to the children’s care worker, Leanne Flynn, whom he stabbed in the left side of her body as she bravely intervened to protect her young charges. He was also found guilty of assault causing harm to another boy and girl, aged five and six respectively, as well as to a French teenager who intervened as he passed by, and the production of the 36cm kitchen knife. He had denied all eight charges.
Trial and Evidence
Ms Flynn and the families of the injured children, who gave evidence during the trial, were in court for the verdict. After the jury was discharged, Bouchaker was seen speaking to the Arabic interpreter and speech and language expert who had assisted him for the duration of the trial. The jury of nine men and three women returned the unanimous verdicts after deliberating for less than five hours following more than three weeks of evidence. They heard evidence from more than a dozen eyewitnesses to the knife attack, which lasted around 15 seconds. They viewed CCTV footage of the incident and Garda interviews with Bouchaker conducted a month after the attack.
Defendant's Statements and Defence
They heard Bouchaker tell detectives during a videotaped interview at a Garda station that he was “upset” at a negative social welfare decision, but adding that he “did not mean to hurt anybody”. Bouchaker received a letter, dated November 15, advising him that his application for basic supplementary welfare allowance would be closed or disallowed if he failed to provide certain documents by November 22. Through an interpreter, the defendant told detectives during an interview in December 2023 that the decision by the Department of Social Welfare made him feel like “this country is telling me to leave”. Detectives had put it to Bouchaker during interviews that he demonstrated patience and restraint on November 23, 2023, in finding a school, including asking people for directions and what time school finished. They told him he had the “instinct” not to attack a group of older, taller children and went for “the smallest children you could find”, waiting for other pedestrians to pass until there was the least amount of adults and the most amount of children present in the time he stood there. The prosecution argued that his specific targeting of smaller children and where he injured them – the chest, head and neck – was evidence of an intention to kill.
Medical Background and Fitness to Stand Trial
Bouchaker received brain surgery in 2021 and a portion of his skull was removed, leaving a part of his brain vulnerable. He suffered a head injury when members of the public intervened on November 23, 2023, after which he received hospital treatment for a month. His defence team, who the judge ordered cannot be named due to safety concerns, said Bouchaker’s cognitive function, memory, concentration, communication and decision-making was affected as a result of the cognitive impairment. Mr Justice Tony Hunt ruled Bouchaker was fit to stand trial in March, and said while he “undoubtedly had cognitive limitations” and would need accommodations, he added that the existence of those requirements did not equate to unfitness.
Next Steps
A sentence hearing is scheduled for Monday, October 12, when victim impact statements are expected to be heard.
