Irish police said Friday that detectives were looking into a suspected terrorism link after a teenager allegedly stabbed an army chaplain outside a barracks in the western city of Galway before being held by soldiers.
“A man in his 50s received a number of stab wounds during the incident,” which happened late Thursday, a police statement said.
He was brought to a Galway hospital “for treatment of injuries that are serious but not life-threatening,” according to the report.
According to police, a male youngster was detained by Defence Forces soldiers and arrested outside Renmore Barracks. He is currently in jail.
The Special Detective Unit of Ireland’s police force, which is in charge of reacting to terrorism threats, is conducting the inquiry.
“One line of inquiry is to establish if this attack had a terrorism motivation,” according to a statement.
The investigating team “wishes to reassure the public that at this time it is not believed this incident is part of a wider conspiracy” .
According to the Irish Times newspaper, police sources believe the alleged attacker, a 16-year-old Irish national from the Galway area, became radicalized online in recent months.
The suspect has a grievance against the deployment of Irish Defence Forces in the Middle East, and his social media posts will be important to the investigation, according to the publication.
According to its website, the Irish Defence Forces are involved in a number of worldwide peacekeeping missions, including United Nations operations in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Israel, which involve approximately 100 people.
Paul Murphy, the victim of Thursday night’s stabbing, thanked the public for their prayers in a Facebook post on Friday, saying he was awaiting surgery.
According to the Irish Times, a knife-wielding youngster approached the priest.
Murphy attempted to flee through the barracks gate but was pursued by his attacker, according to reports.
According to an army statement, sentries at the barracks fired five warning shots “in strict accordance with force protection protocols” before subduing the attacker with a baton.
Micheal Martin, Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, denounced the attack.
“I commend the members of the Defence Forces on duty at the time, whose intervention was critical,” said Martin.
“Our thoughts are with the Defence Forces member injured in the attack,” he said.