The spread of false information following an incident in Dublin Tuesday, where a probationary garda was assaulted, has been labelled as “concerning”, reports RTE.
RTE make it their business to report that a man in his 20s, “who is an Irish-born citizen”, named Abdullah Khan, is charged, following a garda being stabbed in Dublin city centre in connection with the Capel Street incident, which took place just after 6pm in the city centre on Tuesday.
The garda, who was on high-visibility patrol at the time, was stabbed in what officers have described as an unprovoked assault, reports RTE.
He was brought to hospital for treatment and later discharged.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Assistant Garda Commissioner for the Dublin Metropolitan Region, Paul Cleary, said a significant amount of misinformation about the event spread online, reports RTE.
“We have some people with their own agenda trying to use incidents like this to inflame situations for their own ends,” he said, reports RTE.
“There was very inaccurate misinformation and disinformation that went out online after this incident very quickly,” he said, adding that gardaà “would always say to people to make sure that they get their information from credible media sources”, reports RTE.
Mr Cleary noted that a Senior Investigating Officer is leading the case, and said it’s important to not only gather evidence to prosecute the suspect, but also to determine what motivated the attack.
He expressed confidence in the level of support provided to gardaÃ, reports RTE.
“Every garda going out on duty every day is aware of the potential risks … if you take this particular incident, for example, the official issue stab proof vest did its job. They [responding gardaÃ] were able to use the equipment made available to them to subdue the suspect immediately and to detain him, and that went hand-in-hand with their training. I’m happy that they do have supports available to them, going out on their high-visibility patrols,” he added, reports RTE.
Mr Cleary said officers were quick to respond once the alert was made.
“The place was swarmed with gardaà in less than a minute, and it shows that guards are active and visible and around in the city, that they’re able to assist so quickly,” reports RTE.
He added that the suspect had not previously come to the attention of gardaÃ, and the investigation is still underway, reports RTE.
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