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The scene preserved for examination by gardaí this morning. Sadbh Cox/The Journal
Dublin
Multiple buildings, including Dept of Taoiseach and Áras an Uachtaráin, rammed by van overnight
Hours before the incident, the suspect posted online about plans to kill an unnamed man and anyone who got in his way.
GARDAÍ ARE INVESTIGATING after the gates of multiple State premises, including Áras an Uachtaráin and Government Buildings, were rammed overnight.
A man in his 40s has been arrested in connection with the incident.
In posts on social media in the hours before, the suspect wrote about how he was going to kill an unnamed man and “anyone” in his way. He also wrote that he heard a garda was going to be killed.
Commenting on the incident this afternoon, Sinn Féin’s justice spokesperson Pa Daly said it raises serious questions about state security.
“Firstly, I am glad that it appears nobody has been hurt or injured in these ramming incidents.
“However this attack is one issue that we will raise in a forthcoming meeting with Senior Gardaí,” Daly said.
The gates at Government Buildings are the entrance to where a number of offices including the Department of the Taoiseach are located.
The Department of Housing has confirmed that gates at its premises at the Customs House in Dublin were also rammed last night.
It said: “The damage was not substantial and no members of staff were harmed. Gardai are investigating and we will not be commenting any further.”
Gardaí also confirmed a similar incident at the gates of Áras an Uachtaráin. In a statement a garda spokesperson said officers were investigating “an incident of criminal damage” that occurred in the early hours of this morning.
No injuries were reported from the incidents.
The scene at Government Buildings has been sealed off with Garda tape and preserved for examination this morning.
It’s understood the incident at Phoenix Park saw little damage done to the entrance.
However, The Journal viewed the gates hanging off the hinges at one entrance located between the National History Museum and the Attorney General’s office at Government Buildings.
Gardaí also sealed off the back entrance to Leinster House on Merrion Street after it was apparetly rammed as well.
An investigation into what happened is under way.
The driver of a vehicle that apparently rammed the gates of Government Buildings, a male in his 40s, was arrested “on suspicion of offences under the Road Traffic Act”.
He is currently detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at a Garda station in Dublin city,” a Garda spokesperson said.
In posts shared on social media by the suspect last night, two photos shared just after 2.30am show a white van crashed against the gates of the Department of The Taoiseach.
In a previous post, one hour before the incident, the suspect wrote about how he was going to kill an unnamed man and anyone in his way the following night.
Earlier in the day, the suspect wrote in a post that he heard a Garda would be “killed tomorrow” and added “God forbid”.
A day prior, he shared a news article about Conor McGregor receiving a suspended sentence for dangerous driving and appeared to compare it to his own driving, saying that he should have thousands of penalty points.
The suspect added, alongside multiple laughing face emojis, that he should have been banned from driving the last time he was in court, which he said was a week prior.
He said however, that he would still drive even if he was banned and that the only thing that would stop him driving would be locking him up.
This post was accompanied by multiple emojis including laughing faces, viruses, masked faces, the EU flag, and the middle finger emoji.
With reporting by Eoghan Dalton, Sadbh Cox and Jane Matthews
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