The man who intervened to stop yesterday’s horror knife attack on three young children and their carer in Dublin has said he does not want to be hailed a hero.

A five-year-old girl and a woman in her 30s who was looking after her remain in critical condition this morning after they were injured in the attack on Parnell Square yesterday.

Two other children were also injured in the attack.

On Lunchtime Live this afternoon, Brazilian Deliveroo rider Caio Castro Menenzes Benicio said he just was passing through Parnell Square when he saw a man struggling with a woman.

“Later I find out that the woman, she was the teacher of the school, and she was very, very brave I have to tell you,” he said.

Caio said he saw the man grab a little girl and begin to attack her.

“I just left my bike and took off my helmet to protect myself and to use it as a weapon and yeah, I hit him in the head,” he said.

“I hit him in the head and he fell down on the ground.”

Gardaí and emergency services at the scene of a serious incident on Parnell Square East in Dublin, 23/11/2023. Image: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews

Caio said other passersby then got involved and restrained the man.

When the ambulance came, he said, he went over to check on the little girl.

“She was pale and with blood and yeah, it was a very hard thing to see,” he said.

“I'm just here praying for the girl to get better. I don't have any news of her, I know she's in the hospital.

“I’m just praying for her so she can make it alive.”

Instinct

Caio said he has two children of his own – and when he saw the knife, he acted without thinking.

“When you see a man with a knife, I think she was five years old - a little girl - you don't have time to think too much,” he said.

“It's so quick you just act like an instinct.

“That's what I did, I think all parents who have kids would do the same.”

Shock

Caio said he then had to accompany Gardaí to give a statement and when he was finally allowed to go him, he immediately called his family in Brazil.

“When something like that happened to you, you just want to talk to your family, of course,” he said.

“They didn't know exactly what was happening – they know more now because it is in the news there now.

“They told me that I was very brave but again, I don't want to make myself a hero. I think everyone would do the same, as parents, would do the same.

“You know, when you see a man with a knife with a little kid there, you don't even think.”

A double-decker bus and a car are set alight on the edge of O’Connell Bridge during riots in Dublin, 23-11-2023. Image: Sam Boal/RollingNews

Caio said he spent the day yesterday ‘shaking and in shock’ – adding that all his thoughts and prayers are with the little girl.

Riots broke out across the city centre after the attack after anti-immigrant protesters who gathered at the scene became violent.

Caio said he has only been in Ireland for a short time and does not want to talk about Irish politics – but he found the riots hard to understand.

“For me, it just doesn't make sense that all the protest is against immigrants,” he said.

“I'm an immigrant myself and I was the one to help.

“I think that was just an excuse for just a small group of people and the attack was the excuse to do what they did.”

He said he feels “very safe” living in Ireland adding that the riots were driven by a small group of people who were using the attack as an excuse to do what they did.

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