Knifeman who stabbed three children, leaving girl, five, in a wheelchair and sparking riots in Dublin, is found guilty of attempted murder

By PERKIN AMALARAJ, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 16:17, 1 July 2026 | Updated: 16:28, 1 July 2026 An Algerian man has been found guilty of attempting to murder three children during a knife attack on a group of small children on a Dublin street in 2023. Rioting broke out in the Irish capital in the wake of the stabbing, with vehicles set on fire, shops looted and infrastructure damaged. The disorder, which began the evening of the attack after a crowd gathered at the edge of the crime scene, made international headlines. Riad Bouchaker, 52, of no fixed abode, spoke to his interpreter and a speech and language support worker after the verdicts were read out at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin. The Algerian national, who is an Irish citizen, was found guilty of the attempted murder of a then-five-year-old girl, who was stabbed in the heart during the attack and is now non-verbal, uses a wheelchair and cannot swallow safely. He was also found guilty of the attempted murder of a five-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl. He was further convicted of intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to the children's care worker Leanne Flynn, who he stabbed as she intervened to protect the children. Bouchaker was also found guilty of assault causing harm to another boy and girl, as well as to a French teenager who intervened as he passed by, and of the production of the 36cm kitchen knife. Rioting broke out in the Irish capital in the wake of the 2023 stabbing, with vehicles set on fire (pictured), shops looted and infrastructure damaged  He had denied all eight charges.  The court heard he had a mild cognitive impairment after complications arising from a craniotomy in 2021 that left a part of his brain exposed and vulnerable to force. He suffered a further head injury when members of the public intervened during the knife attack on November 23 2023, which required him to receive hospital treatment for a month. His defence team, who the judge ordered cannot be named due to safety concerns, said Bouchaker's cognitive function, memory, concentration, communication and decision-making was affected as a result of the cognitive impairment. Mr Justice Tony Hunt ruled Bouchaker was fit to stand trial in March, and said while he 'undoubtedly had cognitive limitations' and would need accommodations, he added that the existence of those requirements did not equate to unfitness. He has had an Arabic interpreter and a speech and language expert for the duration of the trial. Riad Bouchaker ripped up a social welfare 'refusal' letter hours before attempting to murder three children in Dublin city centre, the jury in his trial saw. Irish police obtained 49 CCTV exhibits of Bouchaker's movements on November 23 2023 and edited them into an hour-long compilation that was shown to the jury early on in the trial. The footage – which shows him meeting his brother, visiting a mosque, and waiting near the school before the attack – was also put to the accused in garda interviews where he confirmed details and offered explanations for his actions. It creates a timeline of his movements in the lead-up to and during the stabbing. The jury of nine men and three women were shown Bouchaker – carrying a backpack and wearing a black cap, black jacket, and blue jeans – leaving the Depaul hostel on Little Britain Street at around 11.10am and walking towards the Ilac shopping centre. There, he is shown going to speak to another man at Dunnes before taking a seat with two other men for roughly two minutes. At around 11.30am, he is shown near the lifts in the shopping centre going through paper documents with one of the men – who he told Gardaí in interviews was his brother – for a number of minutes. In garda interviews with the assistance of an interpreter, he said that the documents contained a 'refusal' from the Department of Social Protection and that he felt 'this country is telling me to leave'. When walking away, he rips up one of the documents and throws it away in the direction of a Christmas tree. In garda interviews, he said he had discussed the letter with his brother, became 'mad' and tore it up – also telling investigators the decision made him 'go into blackout'. The footage shows Bouchaker returning to a hostel by 11.50am. Six minutes later, he exits his room and dumps a pair of shoes in a bin in the hallway. At roughly midday, he leaves the hostel again – but this time he is also carrying a wheeled suitcase along with his backpack. He would later tell Gardaí in interviews that he was also carrying a knife from his accommodation that he wanted to bring 'home' to Algeria. Bouchaker took the suitcase to a mosque in Dublin, where – at around 12.18pm – he is shown having conversations with men inside. In garda interviews, he said he wanted to leave his suitcase there to donate the clothes it contained. He also said it held his Algerian and Irish passports which he had intended for his brother to collect. He told gardaí that he goes to other mosques and had 'never' been inside that mosque before. He said he was 'overwhelmed' and 'felt like Ireland didn't want me' so he had packed up his stuff. By 12.27pm, Bouchaker had left the mosque and started making his way up O'Connell Street – with his bag but no suitcase. Gardaí asked him about apparent interactions with passersby on the street, but he was not able to recall if anything was said. At around 12.35pm, Bouchaker had reached Rutland Place – a laneway that connects to the road where the attempted murders would take place an hour later on Parnell Square East. The footage shows him in the alley near a language school, entering the premises through the rear and walking around before exiting back on to Rutland Place and heading towards Gardiner Row at the other end of the laneway by 12.39pm. The footage appeared to capture Bouchaker in the lane again two minutes later and at 12.47pm. At 12.48pm, he appeared to enter the back gate of the language school again and waits in the area for a number of minutes. He is seen on a different camera at the front of the premises by 12.57pm, having made his way on to Parnell Square East. The man in the footage is seen walking behind a group of schoolchildren on Parnell Square at around 1pm with his bag in front of him. The compilation then suggests he walks back into the Rutland Place laneway before re-emerging and being in proximity of the junction until 1.30pm. He is shown stopping at a bus stop on Parnell Square East near the language school. A child can be seen playing in the area at the same time. The final footage in the compilation showed Bouchaker standing at the bus stop at around 12.34pm. Schoolchildren are also shown lining up in the company of an adult. Bouchaker, having been shown standing for about one minute and 46 seconds, then moved towards the children to launch the knife attack. The comments below have been moderated in advance. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. 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