Five people, including three children, were taken to hospital on Thursday, Irish police said, following a suspected stabbing outside a Dublin school.
Police declared a major incident and threw up a cordon around Parnell Square in the heart of the Irish capital but said they do not suspect a terror motive.
Irish media and eyewitnesses reported that a man armed with a knife had stabbed the victims outside the primary school.
Witnesses told how a man had been disarmed and Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said a suspect had been arrested.
Police, the Garda Siochana, said in a statement they were “following a definite line of inquiry” and were “not looking for any other person at this time.”
It added: “Five casualties have been taken to various hospitals in the Dublin region.
“The casualties include an adult male, an adult female and three young children.
“One child, a girl, has sustained serious injuries, the other two children are being treated for less serious injuries.
“The adult female is being treated for serious injuries and the adult male for less serious injuries.”
The statement added that officers were “investigating all the circumstances” of what it called a “serious public order incident” which occurred shortly after 1:30 pm (1330 GMT).
It said the force was in contact with parents of all three injured children.
Witness Siobhan Kearney said the scene was “absolutely bedlam” as she initially watched events unfold from the other side of the street.
“Without thinking, I just took across the road to help out,” she told Irish national broadcaster RTE.
“We got another young man, disarmed him (the attacker) with the knife, another man took the knife and put it away for the garda to find it.”
Kearney added a group of people restrained the suspect on the ground, as some of those injured were taken back inside the school.
Varadkar said he was shocked by the incident.
“The emergency services responded very quickly and were on site within minutes. I thank them for that,” he said in a statement.
“Gardai have detained a suspect and are following a definite line of inquiry.”
Local lawmaker Aodhan O Riordai, of the Irish Labour Party, said the incident was “disturbing”.
“Understand an individual has been detained. Hope injuries are not serious but it will extremely traumatising regardless for all involved,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Mary Lou McDonald, leader of the Sinn Fein opposition party, said she was “horrified” by what had happened.
“There is shock throughout the community. I have just spoken to the Principal of Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire and relayed my support to the school community,” she said in a statement.
“I want to send my solidarity to the families of those attacked. As a parent, I can only imagine what they are going through right now,” she added, praising the police for their swift response.
