CCTV traces accused man's movements before Dublin knife attack
Security footage presented to jurors shows how the defendant spent his final hours before allegedly attacking schoolchildren in the capital.
CCTV traces accused man's movements before Dublin knife attack
A jury has viewed an hour-long compilation of security recordings tracking the defendant's movements on the day he is accused of trying to kill three children in Dublin.
Gardaí produced 49 separate camera clips from 23 November 2023, which were edited together for the nine men and three women deciding the case, according to Dublin Live (https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/social-welfare-refusal-blood-riad-34221482).
The visual record starts around 11.10am, when the man — dressed in dark clothing with a backpack — leaves temporary accommodation on Little Britain Street and heads toward the Ilac centre.
Roughly twenty minutes later he is seen near the lifts going through documents with another individual. During later questioning, he identified this person as his sibling. Through an interpreter, he explained to officers that the papers included a negative response from the welfare department. He said the rejection made him feel the state was pushing him out. He admitted becoming enraged and destroying one sheet, throwing the fragments toward festive decorations.
He described the emotional impact as sending him into a "blackout."
Back at the hostel by 11.50am, he discards footwear in a corridor bin six minutes after re-entering his room. At noon he sets out once more, now pulling a suitcase alongside his rucksack. He would later tell investigators this luggage held a blade he intended to transport to his homeland.
Around 12.18pm he enters a place of worship in the capital, where recordings show him conversing with people inside. He claimed he wished to give away garments from the case and leave travel documents for his brother to collect. He maintained he had no prior visits to that specific mosque and was distressed because he believed the country had rejected him.
Departing without the suitcase at 12.27pm, he proceeds along the city's main thoroughfare.
By 12.35pm he reaches a connecting passage near where the violence would later unfold. He slips into an educational building through a back door, circles through, then exits toward another street. He returns to the passage shortly after and re-enters the same property at 12.48pm, lingering in the vicinity.
Before 1pm he surfaces at the front of the premises on the square.
Shortly after the hour, he is filmed trailing behind pupils with his bag positioned in front of his body. He retreats to the alley once more, then reappears near the intersection, staying in the area until approximately 1.30pm.
The last images place him at a bus shelter near the school at around 1.34pm. Youngsters can be seen assembling under adult supervision. After waiting there for just under two minutes, he advances toward the group and carries out the stabbing, the compilation indicates.
Proceedings are ongoing.
Source: Dublin Live