Irish police suspect a possible terror motive in a stabbing attack outside an army barracks in Galway that inflicted serious injuries on a military chaplain.
Police have detained a 16-year-old boy who was reportedly radicalised online and had a grievance about Irish peacekeepers in the Middle East.
The attack happened at approximately 10.45pm on Thursday when an assailant with a knife approached Father Paul Murphy as he sat in a car outside Renmore barracks on the outskirts of Galway city in the west of Ireland.
Murphy, who is in his 50s, ran through the gate and was pursued and stabbed several times. Sentries fired warning shots and used a baton to subdue the assailant until police arrived and took him into custody.
The Special Detective Unit, which handles terrorist threats, is investigating the suspect’s social media posts and an apparent grudge about the deployment of Irish soldiers, the Irish Times reported. Irish units are part of UN missions in Lebanon, Syria and elsewhere. The teenager was said to be an Irish national from County Galway.
Murphy, a Catholic chaplain with the defence forces, was said to be in civilian clothes at the time of the attack. He is being treated for serious but not life-threatening injuries.
“Friends, thank you for your prayers, love and concern,” he posted on Facebook on Friday. “Sorry that I can’t reply to all messages and take all the calls coming my way. I’m doing OK; just awaiting surgery. All will be well.”
The taoiseach, Simon Harris, called it a shocking incident and thanked the defence forces personnel and gardaí who responded. “A serious line of inquiry is being pursued and at this time it is important to allow gardaí to work to establish all the facts,” said Harris.
Micheál Martin, the tánaiste and defence minister, said the intervention of the soldiers on duty during the attack was critical.
A police statement said one line of inquiry was to establish if there was a terrorism motivation. “The suspect remains in detention and is being questioned in a gardaí station in the north-western region. Their period of detection has recently been extended. Garda Síochána wishes to reassure the public that at this time it is not believed this incident is part of a wider conspiracy. A thorough investigation is under way and all relevant bureaux have been engaged and are active in progressing this investigation.”