A childcare worker has described how a man accused of the attempted murder of three children came at one of the children in a crouched motion and began ferociously stabbing her.
Leanne Flynn had collected 13 five and six-year-olds from school to bring them to their afterschool on 23 November 2023, when she said Riad Bouchaker began jabbing and slashing at them with a kitchen knife.
The Central Criminal Court heard she grabbed the alleged attacker twice and was stabbed herself in the back.
She described the man as being "hell-bent" on getting to the children.
The court also heard from another witness, who said the man he saw was going up and down the line of kids, "like he wanted to get every kid in the line".
Mr Bouchaker has pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of three children on 23 November 2023 at Parnell Square in Dublin.
The attack happened on 23 November 2023 at Parnell Square
He has also pleaded not guilty to assaulting Ms Flynn, two other children and a passer-by who intervened.
Ms Flynn, who is 38, had worked in the crèche since 2016. She said she would normally leave the crèche just before 1.30pm to collect the children at the local school three or four minutes away.
She said the children would be let out when teachers saw the crèche staff and would line up at the railings in pairs, a junior infants' child with a senior infants' child.
Ms Flynn said she would always be at the front of the line and another staff member would be at the back.
She said the children would normally talk to each other while she and the other worker counted them and helped them with their coats.
She added while the 13 children were lined up at the railings, a man dressed in dark clothes caught her attention.
Ms Flynn said he was at the bus stop, but a bus came and went and he remained there.
She noticed he was not moving off or going anywhere, he was just standing there looking around. She also noticed he was "at his bag" and seemed to be looking for something.
Ms Flynn said she was zipping up a little boy's coat when she saw the man walk towards the children.
He came towards a little girl "in a crouched motion" she said, and as he got closer, she saw him take a knife and begin "ferociously stabbing" the five-year-old.
Ms Flynn told the court she let out a shout, asked the man what he was doing and told him to get away from the children. She said she ran at him and grabbed him from behind.
She said the man was still trying to "continuously jab" the little girl.
Ms Flynn said this child was the first child he stabbed with the knife and seemed to be the person who got most of the jabbing.
She pulled him back from the children, he turned around and she saw him clearly.
She said the man looked confused when he saw her as if he was not expecting an adult or someone bigger to approach him.
Ms Flynn said she "kind of swung him" and they were in a tussle.
Childcare worker Leanne Flynn leaving court
During the tussle, she said the man stabbed her in the back left side. She did not know she had been stabbed at the time - she said she "felt something wet" but it did not register with her that she was hurt.
Ms Flynn described how the man went to try to go back to the children again and was swinging, jabbing and slashing the knife.
Some of the children had moved by this stage, she said, but some were frozen with panic.
Ms Flynn said she went back over and grabbed him a second time.
She said she let out a scream and shouted, "someone help me he has a knife" and other adults intervened.
Ms Flynn said she was grabbing the children and telling them to run. She moved them down the road to a nearby hotel where she sat down on steps as she was beginning to get light-headed.
She said she told the kids who were with her to stay where they were and that they were safe. As she sat on the steps, she saw a big commotion and saw loads of adults intervening and surrounding the man.
Ms Flynn said she had realised by this stage that she had been stabbed. An elderly man stayed with her and a woman came out from the hotel and asked how she could help.
Ms Flynn told her to take the children inside as they did not need to see what was going on.
The court heard Ms Flynn suffered multiple injuries and was in hospital for a month. Her lung collapsed when she was first stabbed and she told the court her diaphragm had been severed and collapsed her other lung.
She had to have her spleen removed and part of her stomach was injured as well.
Ms Flynn described how she had to be put into an induced coma and had two emergency surgeries. She has not yet managed to get back to work.
In cross examination, Mr Bouchaker’s defence counsel told Ms Flynn he was not suggesting that anyone else other than Riad Bouchaker caused the knife injuries to her or to anyone else. And he said she had intervened with "extraordinary courage".
Asked if she thought Mr Bouchaker who had suffered a brain injury in 2021, looked "frantic" or as if…
Read the full article at RTÉ News →📄Source document: Central Criminal Court
24 reports
TheJournal.ieIndependentCenter2 days agoDoctors at the scene of a 2023 stabbing in Dublin's Parnell Square attempted to save the life of a five-year-old girl who had been stabbed in the heart. Dr Michael Boyle, head of the neonatal department at the Rotunda Hospital, testified before the Central Criminal Court that the medical team acted outside standard procedures in an effort to save the child's life. The trial involves 52-year-old Riad Bouchaker, who faces charges including attempted murder and assault.
Bias read (Center): The article presents factual testimony from a medical professional without overtly biased language or selective emphasis. It reports on legal proceedings and medical actions taken during an incident, without apparent ideological framing or slanted sourcing.
Official sources cited
- statement Dr Michael Boyle
- court Central Criminal Court
RTÉ NewsState / PublicCenter2 days agoDr Mike Boyle, head of the neonatal department at the Rotunda Hospital, testified during the trial of Riad Bouchaker regarding the treatment of a critically injured girl following a stabbing incident in Parnell Square in November 2023. Dr Boyle stated that upon arriving at the scene, he observed the girl with no pulse and signs indicating her heart was not beating. The trial involves Bouchaker, who has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and assault charges.
Bias read (Center): The article presents factual testimony from a medical professional without apparent ideological framing, editorializing, or biased language. It focuses on the medical response to a criminal incident and does not take a stance on the legal outcome or broader political implications.
Official sources cited
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Bias read (Center): The article provides a factual account of a courtroom testimony without apparent ideological framing. It focuses on describing the events as reported by a firefighter during the trial, without showing clear bias toward any political perspective.
Official sources cited
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Bias read (Center): The article presents testimony from both the prosecution witness and the defense without overtly favoring either side. It reports directly on the legal proceedings and does not include biased language or selective sourcing.
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Bias read (Center): The article presents testimony from witnesses and includes statements from both the prosecution and defense without overtly favoring either side. It reports facts neutrally, including witness accounts and legal arguments presented in court.
Official sources cited
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Bias read (Center): The article presents a factual account of a criminal trial without overtly favoring any side. It includes direct quotes from the witness and provides background information on the accused and the charges against him. There is no evident bias in the language or framing of the events described.
Official sources cited
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The Irish TimesIndependent🔒Center6 days ago Riad Bouchaker seemed ‘hell-bent’ on attacking children, stabbed creche worker tells juryA childcare assistant testified in court that Riad Bouchaker appeared determined to attack children during an incident in Dublin’s Parnell Square on November 23rd, 2023. Leanne Flynn described seeing Bouchaker stabbing a five-year-old girl and swinging a knife toward other children. Another witness, Caio Benicio, a Brazilian Deliveroo driver, stated he saw Bouchaker holding a knife and stabbing the child before being struck by Benicio’s helmet. Both witnesses provided accounts of the events during the ongoing trial.
Bias read (Center): The article presents factual testimony from two witnesses without apparent ideological framing. It reports on a criminal case without taking a stance on broader political issues. The language used is descriptive and neutral, focusing on the sequence of events as reported by the witnesses.
Official sources cited
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Bias read (Center): The article presents factual testimony from witnesses without apparent ideological framing. It reports on a criminal case with no evident slant toward either the defendant or the victims. The language remains neutral, focusing on the events as described by the witnesses and legal proceedings.
Official sources cited
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Official sources cited
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Official sources cited
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Ireland