Riad Bouchaker told a garda he was “wrong” in suggesting he had decided to attack smaller rather than bigger children during an incident at Parnell Square in November 2023, a jury has heard.
During a recorded interview on December 21st, 2023, Det Garda Gary Moran put to Bouchaker that he had waited on Parnell Square East for about 37 minutes on the afternoon of November 23rd, 2023, and “weighed up your options” before attacking a number of children.
Moran put to Bouchaker that he found the school, had asked people where the school was and when it finished and saw children playing at the back.
He put to Bouchaker he “had the instinct” of not going for bigger, taller children. The garda said “You went for the smallest children you could find” and that demonstrated “you had your full mind with you” and that he had made decisions “and you carried out this attack”.
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Moran told Bouchaker to stop saying things such as “Thank God no one died”.
Moran said creche worker Leanne Flynn had protected the children when Bouchaker went to stab them and told him: “Don’t thank God, thank Leanne, and you stabbed Leanne as well.” Bouchaker said: “It looks like my mind flew away.”
Moran put to Bouchaker he stabbed Flynn “to get at the children”.
The garda also showed Bouchaker a photo of a five-year-old girl who had suffered severe injuries and told him of injuries to other children.
Bouchaker replied: “Do to me whatever you want. Should I get frustrated, give me my medication and we will all go to God.”
In other replies, Bouchaker said he was “sick”, “not in my mind” and “my mind flew away”.
Moran put to Bouchaker that he had waited “until there was a minimal amount of people around so you could carry out that attack”. He replied: “I’m sick.”
When Moran put to him he had waited until the little children came out and said “you saw your moment”, Bouchaker replied: “Thank God nobody died. Importantly a sick person in this incident.”
He referred to his shoulder injury and the garda asked: “Did your shoulder cause you to do this?” Bouchaker replied: “Let it happen, do whatever you want”, before asking to take a break. “I think I’m fainting.”
Det Garda Kevin Bambrick agreed with prosecuting counsel Carol Doherty that when the memo of interview was read over to him, Bouchaker agreed it was correct and said: “The important thing, I am sick person, cannot see from one eye, I have been waiting for glasses for three years, maybe life might be better in here than out there.”
Today is the 11th day of the trial at the Central Criminal Court of Bouchaker (52), a native of Algeria of no fixed abode. He denies eight charges: attempting to murder three children on Parnell Square East on November 23rd, 2023; assault causing harm to two other children and a passerby who intervened; assault causing serious harm to childcare worker Leanne Flynn and producing a 36cm kitchen knife capable of inflicting serious injury.
The trial heard a five-year-old girl suffered severe brain injuries and is now non-verbal and using a wheelchair.
Bouchaker, the jury heard, had a head operation in 2021, suffered a head injury during the Parnell Square incident and now has an acquired brain injury.
Before the trial, Judge Tony Hunt found him fit to plead.
The jury earlier this week watched, or were read, transcripts of six interviews with Bouchaker from December 20th, 2023.
Bouchaker was asked about his movements on November 23rd, 2023. He said he had met his brother in the Ilac Centre and showed him a letter from the Department of Social Protection that required Bouchaker to provide documents by November 22nd in pursuit of his application for supplementary welfare allowance.
Bouchaker said the social welfare letter “made me go into blackout” and he “never intended to kill anybody”.
The jury heard Bouchaker tore up the letter, went back to his hostel, packed a suitcase with clothes and his Irish and Algerian passports and left the suitcase in a mosque on Talbot Street before “wandering” around.
When shown a knife and a backpack, he said those were his, he “liked” the knife and intended to bring it home to Algeria.
Today, the judge told the jury the prosecution case was expected to finish on Thursday and, if so, the jury would not be required on Friday while the court dealt with legal matters in their absence.
The jury then resumed watching a seventh interview with Bouchaker, held on December 21st, 2023.
