Riad Bouchaker found guilty of attempted murder of children at Parnell Square

Eoin Reynolds

Riad Bouchaker has been found guilty of all eight counts against him, including the attempted murder of three children on Parnell Square East in 2023.

The attacks sparked riots across Dublin city and left one girl with a devastating, life-long brain injury.

The jury spent about five hours over two days considering their verdicts, which were unanimous in relation to each count.

Bouchaker, of no fixed address, had denied the attempted murder of two girls and one boy, and assault causing serious harm to creche worker Leanne Flynn, at Parnell Square East in Dublin City on November 23rd, 2023.

He also denied assaulting two other children and then-teenager Alan Loren-Guille and producing a knife in a manner likely to intimidate.

The jury of nine men and three women began their deliberations on Tuesday following a three-week trial. During the trial, they heard evidence that Bouchaker was upset after failing to secure social welfare payments. He went to his hostel on Little Britain St in Dublin city centre, armed himself with a 36cm carving knife and walked to Parnell Square where he asked several people for the location of a school.

He waited in the area for about one hour before noticing that 13 primary school students aged five and six were lining up as they prepared to be taken to an after-school creche.

Bouchaker stood at a bus stop in front of the children for one minute and 40 seconds until the only other adult nearby was Leanne Flynn. When Flynn crouched down to zip up the coat of one of the children, Bouchaker removed the knife from a rucksack strapped to his chest.

He moved quickly towards one little girl and stabbed her in the chest, causing a perforation to the right ventricle of her heart. Flynn dragged Bouchaker away but suffered a stab wound to her back as she did so. Bouchaker then continued his attack on the children until passersby intervened and knocked or dragged him to the ground.

The little girl suffered brain damage due to blood loss and will require lifelong care. Another girl had an 8cm gash to the top of her head and lost a fragment of skull due to a wound to the back of her head. The other children suffered what were described as superficial wounds.

Flynn required surgery to remove her spleen and to repair her diaphragm. She remained in hospital for one month.

Mr Justice Tony Hunt will set a date for a sentencing hearing this afternoon.

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