'I hit him with my helmet' says hero Deliveroo rider who ended Dublin stabbings
A hero Deliveroo rider who stopped a knife attack outside a school in Dublin has told how he "knocked the guy down with his helmet".
A five-year-old girl underwent emergency treatment for serious injuries and a woman was also badly injured, while two other children, a five-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl, suffered less serious injuries following the incident on Parnell Square.
The attack happened around lunchtime on Thursday when they were stabbed close to Irish language medium primary school Gaelscoil Cholaiste Mhuire. Gardai said a man who sustained serious injuries at the scene is a person of interest in their investigation. Rioting followed in Dublin that was condemned by police as "gratuitous thuggery".
Now the Brazilian who intervened to stop the attacker has told how he stepped in having seen the incident unfold as he passed on his motorcycle. Caio Benicio, 43, said in an audio message shared with a WhatsApp group how he was able to stop the man using his helmet.
Caio Benicio is being hailed as a hero
Violent scenes broke out after the attack (X)"I saw the guy pulling the teacher, picking up the child. I stopped to see what was happening. I thought it was a normal fight," he said, as reported by Otempo newspaper in Brazil. "Then the teacher pulled the child, the guy pulled another child and pulled a knife. A five-year-old child!
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"Man, I threw the bike on the ground and went after the guy. The guy stabbing the girl... I didn't even think about it. I took my helmet off and hit... which knocked the guy down. I think I managed to knock the guy down with the helmet, I hit him in the head." It's understood that others then advanced on the attacker and were able to restrain him until gardai arrived.
People gathering at the scene of the stabbing in Dublin city centre (PA)Mr Benicio also told The Journal that he has two children himself, and felt he "had to do something". "People were there but they couldn't step in because he was armed, but I knew I could use my helmet as a weapon," he said.
He added his thoughts are with the five-year-old girl who was seriously injured. "I am praying, it's all I'm thinking of. I saw her in the ambulance, she looked so vulnerable, I had to go with gardai then. I am waiting for news about her. I am hoping," he said.
A bus and car on fire on O'Connell Street (PA)Initially, gardai said they were "satisfied there is no terrorist link" to the stabbings but at an evening press conference on Thursday, Commissioner Drew Harris stopped short of definitively ruling out a terrorist motive. "I have never ruled out any possible motive for this attack... all lines of inquiry are open to determine the motive for this attack," he said.
Angry impromptu protests in the aftermath of the attack spiralled into a night of violence and disorder as buses, trams and at least one Garda vehicle were burned and a shop was looted on one of Dublin's most famous throughfares, O'Connell Street. There were clashes with riot police as some demonstrators let off flares and fireworks, while others flung chairs and stools grabbed from outside bars and restaurants.
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