Tag: Police Service of Northern Ireland

  • Dublin riot: More arrests as authorities review CCTV

    Dublin riot: More arrests as authorities review CCTV

    Irish politicians have been informed that additional arrests of those connected to the incident in Dublin on Thursday are expected as police continue to go through 6,000 hours of CCTV footage.

    After a knife attack outside a school injured three kids and a school care assistant, there was unrest.

    In the chaos, stores were plundered and cars were set on fire.

    The most riot police in Irish history, according to Justice Minister Helen McEntee, were sent in to quell the rioting.

    She reportedly informed her fellow ministers on Friday night that Irish police were watching hours of CCTV and would undoubtedly make further arrests.

    She had earlier defended the actions of the police following remarks made by Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, who expressed her lack of trust in Ms. McEntee and Irish police chief Drew Harris.

    Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, or Taoiseach, stated at a speech on Friday that the disturbance involved roughly 500 individuals.

    Claiming to have “brought shame” upon Ireland, he pledged to enact new laws in a matter of weeks to hold those responsible accountable.

    A “lunatic, hooligan faction driven by a far-right ideology” was the cause of the unrest, according to Mr. Harris.

    34 people were taken into custody by police after businesses were robbed and cars were set on fire. A large number of those detained are scheduled to appear in court on Friday to face charges including possession of stolen goods and carrying firearms.

    On Friday night, there was a noticeable police presence in Dublin’s city centre. Following many altercations, cops made several arrests on O’Connell Street.

    The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has sent two water cannon to the Irish police, in case there are any more protests.

    What transpired during the stabbings in Dublin?

    Attackers targeted a five-year-old child and a school employee who “used her body as a shield” on Thursday after 13:40 local time. The young girl’s status at the hospital is still critical.

    In the heart of the city, outside Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire, the children’s school, was the scene of the attack.

    It is believed that a man stabbed a bunch of young children who were lining up.

    The attacker was fought off by a number of bystanders, one of which being a Brazilian food delivery man who used his bike helmet as a weapon.

    Police have identified a man in his late 40s who was also critically hurt as a subject of interest. They declared that, in regards to the attack, they are not searching for anybody else.

    The school released a statement in which it expressed its “deep shock and sadness” at the event and said that its thoughts were with the injured students and creche provider.

    What was the course of the Dublin riot?

    Shortly after the knife attack, rioters set fire to eleven police cars, severely damaging thirteen stores, and looting additional ones during their altercations with riot police.

    Over three hours of nonstop violence resulted in the destruction of three buses, a tram, and multiple injuries to police personnel.

    According to Garda Commissioner Drew Harris, “hateful assumptions” based on material that went viral online following the stabbings caused the “extraordinary outbreak of violence”.

    It is acknowledged that erroneous allegations that the assailant was a foreign national were included in that.

    The guy accused of carrying out the attack is an Irish citizen who has been residing in the nation for 20 years, according to sources who spoke with the media.

    The garda commissioner declared, “These are scenes that we have not seen in decades.”

    The violence on Thursday night, according to Irish President Michael D. Higgins, “deserves condemnation by all those who believe in the rule of law and democracy”.

  • Three detained following Northern Ireland shooting incident

    Three detained following Northern Ireland shooting incident

    In relation to the attempted murder of a well-known detective in Northern Ireland, three men have been detained.

    At a sports complex on Wednesday, Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell was shot multiple times in front of his son and other kids.

    The men arrested are 38, 45, and 47 years old, according to Simon Byrne, chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), and they are presently being questioned by police.

    Caldwell was shot several times by masked men in Omagh, County Tyrone on Wednesday as he put footballs in his car with his son, Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Assistant Chief Constable Mark McEwan told media.

    “Two gunmen approached and we believe both have fired multiple shots. John ran a short distance and fell to the ground. While he was on the ground, the gunmen continued to fire at him,” McEwan said, describing the attack.

    The shooting occurred in a crowded space with children nearby, McEwan added, and that “we saw many of those young people and children running in sheer terror to get to safety.” Caldwell remains in a “critical but stable condition” after being taken to hospital.

    Police launched an attempted murder investigation and have appealed for witnesses to contact them. “[The] investigation is in early stage. We believe the gunman made off in a small dark car which was later found burned out.” McEwan told BBC Radio Ulster.

    McEwan also said “our primary focus is on violent dissident republicans” in the investigation, singling out a group called the New IRA, which was responsible for the murder of journalist Lyra McKee in 2019.

    The Police Federation for Northern Ireland has called the attack a “callous, cold-blooded and barbaric attempted murder on an off-duty officer” and appealed to anyone with information to come forward.

    The Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Leo Varadkar condemned the shooting as a “grotesque act of attempted murder,” on Twitter.

    British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was “appalled by the disgraceful shooting,” writing on Twitter, “My thoughts are with the officer and his family. There is no place in our society for those who seek to harm public servants protecting communities.”

    The attack is the most serious in Northern Ireland for several years; the last time a police officer was shot in Northern Ireland was 2017, according to Reuters.

    In 1998, the town of Omagh saw the single deadliest attack in the 30-year conflict between Roman Catholic nationalists and Protestant pro-British loyalists, as a blast killed 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, and wounded more than 300.

    It occurred at the tail-end of the bloody period known as the Troubles, which lasted from the late 1960s to the late 1990s. It was also four months after the signing of the Good Friday peace accord – which ushered in a new era in the region despite the continuation of some fighting.