The parents of a young girl who was gravely wounded in a knife assault at Parnell Square, the heart of Dublin, last November are hopeful that she will return home full-time by the festive season. The 5-year-old girl was one among three children harmed in the assault near Coláiste Mhuire on November 23rd, an event in which a care worker who tried to shield the children was also hurt.
After spending 281 days at the Temple Street Children’s Hospital, the girl was released in September and subsequently moved to a recuperation facility. The family, in an update on their fundraising page, stated that their “little angel” showed daily progress after four weeks in rehabilitation.
The family expressed their gratitude for the public’s kindness in contributing to their GoFundMe, which raised over €106,000 for medical bills at the time of the update. They described the expenditures over the past months as they have moved to a more spacious, wheelchair-accessible home, purchased an adapted vehicle, and coped with an increase in daily costs due to a lack of cooking facilities in their temporary accommodations.
In a case related to the Parnell Square attack, Riad Bouchaker (50), of no fixed residence, was charged last December on multiple counts, including three counts of attempted murder, seriously injuring a care worker, assaulting a man on the scene, and harming three children. Further, he was charged with possession and production of a 36cm kitchen knife. Bouchaker remains in detention while awaiting trial.
The incident last November triggered a hard-right assembly in Dublin immediately after the attack, leading to rioting, arson, confrontations with the police and looting incidents.
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