Police officers stand guard near the scene of a suspected stabbing that left few children injured in Dublin, Ireland [Source: Reuters]

Five people, including three young children and the suspect, were injured in a knife attack in central Dublin that police said they were satisfied was not terror-related and appeared to be a “standalone attack”.

A five-year-old girl was receiving emergency treatment after sustaining serious injuries, police said. A man in his 50s, who is also being treated for serious injuries, was detained by police who said they are not looking for any other suspect.

Police said it appeared the man attacked a number of people on Dublin’s Parnell Square, which is next to Dublin city’s main thoroughfare of O’Connell Street, shortly after 1330. Members of the public intervened at an early stage of the attack.

A woman in her 30s was also being treated for serious injuries while the two other children, a five-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl, suffered less serious injuries. The boy has been discharged from hospital.

The attack happened near a school but Geraghty said police did not believe it was an attack on the school.

The scene was still sealed off shortly before 1800 when a group of around 50 anti-immigrant protesters briefly broke through a police barrier. Some shouted ‘get them out’ and one kicked the wing mirror off a police car. Another was draped in an Irish flag.

Riot police in helmets and shields were deployed shortly after.

Geraghty said police were not in a position to confirm specific details of anyone involved in the incident when asked about the nationality of the detained man.

Anthony Boyle, 31, an IT consultant who lives on the road and was passing by told Reuters, “I saw a child on the ground, a little girl”.

Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said in a statement that “we are all shocked by the incident.”