Creche worker stabbed shielding children in Dublin attack out of intensive care
A woman who was repeatedly stabbed while trying to shield children from a knife attacker in Dublin is out of intensive care.
Leanne Flynn, a creche worker, was seriously injured during the attack as she attempted to protect the five and six-year-olds from the knifeman.
She was left with neck injuries and spent a week in intensive care, while three children were seriously injured near the Gaelscoil Cholasite Mhuire primary school.
But last week Leanne was moved to a high dependency unit as she continues to recover nearly two weeks after the attack.
A five-year-old girl remains in intensive care fighting for her life after undergoing emergency surgery in Dublin’s temple Street Children’s Hospital.
An online fundraiser set up for the injured youngster has raised more than €35,000 after setting an initial target of €500.
The mother gave an update on her daughter’s condition in a post which was published on the GoFundMe page by the organiser on Friday saying ‘she is still here with us’.
A five-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl have both been discharged from Crumlin Children’s Hospital.
Leanne has since been hailed a hero after risking her life to protect the children.
Leanne’s borther Jonathan, wrote on a GoFundMe page: ‘Leanne hasn’t been able to share her story with everybody yet so I’m not gonna put up any details here but she is a hero and I’m so proud of my sister.
‘Thanks to everyone who has donated and I hope all involved fully recover.’
One source told Dublin Live: ‘You would shudder to think what would have happened if Leanne didn’t act so quickly.’
Another witness said: ‘Leanne was unbelievably brave. She threw herself across the children to protect them and she took the full brunt of it.’
A brave Deliveroo driver, Caio Benicio, who stepped in to subdue the attacker has also been hailed a hero, with a fundraiser set up to ‘buy him a pint’.
The attack lead to riots in the city centre, with the alleged knifeman under guard in hospital as Gardai await medical clearance to question him.
The man, originally from Algeria, has been living in Ireland for the past two decades.
He became an Irish citizen more than ten years ago.
Ireland’s Prime Minister Leo Varadkar condemned Dubin’s ‘night of shame’ after 500 people fought riot police, looted shops and torched a double-decker bus in anger over the attack.
Police said 34 people were arrested over their involvement in the violence, which officials said was driven by a ‘complete lunatic faction driven by far-right ideology’.
Mr Varadkar said: ‘They brought shame on Dublin, brought shame on Ireland and brought shame on their families and themselves.
‘As a country we need to reclaim Ireland. We need to take it away from the cowerers who hide behind masks and try to terrify us with their violence,’ he said in an emotional statement a day after the riots.
‘We need to reclaim Ireland from the unscrupulous who prey on the fears of those easily led into darkness. And we need to reclaim Ireland from the criminals who seek any excuse to unleash horror on our streets.’
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