Riad Bouchaker found guilty of attempted murder of three children in Parnell Square attack

Jury unanimously convicts 52-year-old of attempted murder and assault charges arising from the 2023 Dublin city attack

Riad Bouchaker had denied the attempted murder of two girls and one boy, and assault causing serious harm to crèche worker Leanne Flynn, at Parnell Square East in Dublin city on November 23, 2023. File picture: PA

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

The attacks sparked riots across Dublin city and left one girl with life-changing brain injuries.

The jury spent about five hours over two days considering its verdicts, which were unanimous on all counts.

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

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

The jury of nine men and three women began deliberations on Tuesday following a three-week trial. 

During the trial, jurors heard evidence that Bouchaker was upset after failing to secure social welfare payments. 

He went to his hostel on Little Britain Street 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 an hour before noticing that 13 primary school children, aged five and six, were lining up to be taken to an after-school crèche. 

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 Ms 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.

 Ms 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 passers-by intervened and knocked him to the ground.

The little girl suffered brain damage due to blood loss and will require lifelong care. Another girl suffered an 8cm wound to the top of her head and lost a fragment of her skull after suffering a wound to the back of her head. 

The other children suffered what were described as superficial injuries.

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

Mr Justice Tony Hunt will set a date for a sentencing hearing later today.

More to follow...