Three Children Injured in Dublin Attack

Five people, including three young children, were injured near a school in Dublin on Thursday, the police said, in what the country’s justice minister described as “an appalling attack.”

A suspect in the case was in custody — an adult man, himself injured — according to a spokeswoman for the Garda Síochána, the Irish police force. She added that investigators were following a definite line of inquiry and were not looking for other suspects.

The arrested man suffered “less serious” injuries, the police said in a statement, but they declined to say what kind of weapon was used, or provide any information on the nature of the injuries. A witness who spoke to the Irish public broadcaster RTÉ described seeing a man carrying a knife, who was disarmed by “another young man.”

The police added that an adult woman and a girl sustained serious wounds, while the other two children were being treated for less serious injuries. They said the episode, which they described as “a serious public order incident,” took place at Parnell Square East, in central Dublin, shortly after 1:30 p.m.

“I am deeply shocked by the appalling attack on three innocent children and a woman in Dublin today,” Ireland’s justice minister, Helen McEntee, said in a statement.

The five injured people were taken to hospitals in the Dublin region, according to the police, who said they were in contact with all the children’s parents.