A child who was stabbed in the back by another pupil in a Dublin primary school remained in hospital yesterday following surgery.
The child, aged 11, was stabbed by another pupil — also understood to be the same age — in the school yard on Tuesday morning.
The child was stabbed in the back, close to his lungs. He had surgery in a Dublin hospital on Tuesday night.
A knife had been brought into the school from a pupil’s home, it is understood.
As the child suspected of the stabbing is aged 11, he is therefore below the general age of criminal responsibility of 12.
People Before Profit councillor Conor Reddy said that international actors had been posting about the incident on social media within hours, and misinformation had initially spread in the community, stoking unwarranted fear.
However, the school and gardaí acted well to quickly stem that spread of misinformation, he said.
“The people are still reeling from it, but there’s not the same kind of fear or concern that there would have been yesterday because information gaps have been bridged,” Mr Reddy explained.
“For a while yesterday, it wasn’t clear to people locally if it was a bigger attack and all sorts of people were suggesting all sorts of things unfortunately.
“It just shows how dangerous these kind of channels are. Online speculation did feed into the fear for local people.”
He said something needs to be done about the rumour mill and the “megaphone” given to some people on social media.
“Luckily, nothing followed the commenting yesterday — but it did add to people’s worry,” Mr Reddy said.
The local community is still reeling from shock but has rallied together to support one another following the incident, Mr Reddy stated.
“The community has been great, looking out for one another since this happened,” he said.
“People are being very kind to one another.
“The response from the schools has been great as well, informing parents and supporting children.
“It’s the first time that anything like this has ever happened in a school in the area.”
The school in North Dublin was immediately cleared out when the alarm was raised shortly after the incident occurred.
Gardaí attended the scene and confirmed that both children involved attend the school.
The boys are known to each other and are believed to have had a challenging relationship recently.
“One male child has been taken to a hospital in Dublin with injuries that are believed to be non-life threatening,” a garda statement advised.
“Gardaí are in contact with the parents of both children.”
Gardaí were liaising with school management and staff to identify the circumstances around the stabbing incident.
“An Garda Síochána will continue to engage with all relevant State agencies regarding this incident,” the statement said.
“There is no concern for public safety.”
