Family of young girl seriously injured in Parnell Square stabbing in 2023 'want justice'
Sarah Slater
The family of a little girl who was seriously injured in a multiple stabbing incident outside a primary school on Parnell Square have said they “want justice” so that "other parents” do not have to go through what they are.
Her family revealed that she also had a recent “unexpected” stay in hospital.
The girl, aged five at the time of the attack, was critically injured outside Coláiste Mhuire National School on Parnell Square in Dublin on November 23rd, 2023 and spent the majority of last year in Temple Street Children’s Hospital before being released from medical care late last year.
Relatives have been sharing updates on a GoFundMe page, set up following the incident, which has raised almost €136,000.
In one of their most recent updates, her parents explained that their “angel warrior's resilience” is impressive.
They continued that even after an “unexpected stay back in hospital, she smiled through lines being put in, bloods being drawn, oxygen mask, the works.”
The young girl is now out of hospital, “back home, back in school, getting stronger again.”
Her parents said that despite the circumstances of their daughter being back in hospital, it was “really nice seeing so many familiar faces. They (hospital staff) were also delighted to see how far she has come, how strong she looks.”
However, the events of that day, almost 20 months ago, have scarred her mother and family, who outlined how what happened on the day she and others were injured was “like a scene from a movie, but that it isn't. “
Her mother continued: “This happened to our little girl. Only it wasn't a workplace, it was a school. And nothing is certain... She gets by because she is a happy child, surrounded by love. In spite of it all, we have no answers, even if we know who is responsible. And we know we want justice so that other parents don't have to go through what we are.”
The multiple stabbings on Parnell Square left two other young children and a carer injured.
The Dublin-based mother went on to recall how the events of the day her daughter was seriously injured and the months after continue to stay with her and her daughter.
“One day, at the end of your work day, you are standing outside your workplace, and suddenly, you see a commotion. You run because your instincts tell you to do so, only you cannot run because something is stopping you from doing it. And then you slip into a nightmare, one that you try to escape, try to climb a tree or a wall to get out.”
She outlines how her daughter must have felt on the day she was injured and the subsequent months.
“Days, weeks, months, go by. You are not able to speak, you are unable to walk. You can lift one arm, very slowly. You cannot eat because you haven't 'learnt' how to swallow. Instead, you have a tube going into your stomach,” her mother details.
“People guess what you want because you still cannot speak. They change your nappy, wipe your mouth, bathe you, all the things you managed to do yourself. You are completely dependent. You have scars across your chest, on your neck, on your arm from all the different life-saving procedures. It is a lot. You just want to understand.”
Riad Bouchaker (50) is currently before the courts charged with three counts of attempted murder, one of producing and possessing a kitchen knife, three counts of assault causing harm and one of assault causing serious harm.
