Parnell Square: Man guilty of attempted murder of three children
A 52-year-old man has been found guilty of the attempted murder of three children following a stabbing attack in Dublin's Parnell Square in November 2023. Riad Bouchaker, of no fixed address, was convicted on Wednesday of all eight charges he had denied, including assault causing serious harm to childcare worker Leanne Flynn and assaulting two other children and a teenager.
The jury, comprising three women and nine men, deliberated for approximately six hours before reaching their verdict. Judge Tony Hunt thanked the jurors for their work, stating the verdicts are "entirely in line with the evidence that you heard."
Bouchaker used a kitchen knife to attack the group as they emerged from a crèche. A five-year-old girl was stabbed in the heart and has been left with life-long brain injuries, leaving her non-verbal, wheelchair-bound and unable to swallow safely. A five-year-old boy and six-year-old girl also required hospital treatment for their injuries.
Leanne Flynn, the childcare worker, was stabbed whilst attempting to shield the children. She sustained two collapsed lungs and injuries to her diaphragm, stomach and spleen. Two other children and a French teenager who intervened were also assaulted.
The court heard that Bouchaker, an Algerian national and Irish citizen, had lived in Ireland for two decades. On the morning of the attack, he learned he had been refused a social welfare payment before collecting the knife from his hostel and waiting outside the childcare centre.
The attack sparked widespread rioting across the Irish capital that evening. Rioters destroyed eleven police vehicles, badly damaged thirteen shops and looted others, whilst three buses and a tram were destroyed. Several police officers were injured during three hours of sustained violence. Ireland's police chief at the time, Drew Harris, blamed the rioting on a "lunatic hooligan faction driven by a far-right ideology."
Bouchaker will be remanded in custody until sentencing in October.