PJ Gallagher has offered his vespa to the brave Deliveroo driver who stopped a knife attacker in Dublin on Thursday afternoon.
The shocking incident has left a five-year-old girl in a critical condition in hospital, while two other young children and a female creche worker, aged in her 30s, were also treated for injuries after the attack.
Caio Benicio, the driver who helped stop the attacker, has since been hailed a “hero” and praised for his act of bravery on social media.
The Deliveroo driver, originally from Brazil, allegedly tackled the man who stabbed three children in the city centre.
The father-of-two spoke to RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland and said that he was there “at the right time in the right place”.
Caio continued to describe the tragic ordeal: “At first I thought it was a fight with a man and a woman. Then, I just saw a little girl, and a woman who couldn’t get the girl from the man. And then the man grabbed another [child].”
“When I saw the knife, I pulled up my bike and it was my initiative,” the hero added.
Now the Deliveroo driver is being praised for his heroic act, with comedian PJ offering him a lend of his vespa.
The Young Offenders actor took to X to offer his aid to the Deliveroo driver: “@Deliveroo_IE Can you please tell Caio Benicio that if he needs a bike to work on while waiting to get his back that I have a Vespa here he can use. Thank you.”
PJ continued: “GTS 300 if he asks.”
He also mentioned that he could be contacted through Radio Nova’s X account.
@Deliveroo_IE Can you please tell Caio Benicio that if he needs a bike to work on while waiting to get his back that I have a Vespa here he can use. Thank you.
— PJ Gallagher (@pjgallagher) November 24, 2023
Last night, violent riots broke out in Dublin as rumours started circulating about the attacker being an immigrant.
According to RTÉ, the assailant isn’t from Ireland but has been living here for several years and holds Irish citizenship.
In response to the riots that broke out on Thursday night, Caio said: “There are protests against immigrants and I am immigrant and I was there, right there to protect Irish people you know.”
Caio Benicio is one of the best of us & a dramatic contrast to the hundreds of ‘patriotic’ white Irish ‘Christian’ far right who destroyed a Luas, 6 buses, Garda cars, looted, burnt a hotel & an asylum centre, attacked Gardaí & traumatised a city. https://t.co/lJyKaWANh1
— Dr Robert Bohan (@RobertBohan) November 24, 2023
“They don’t even know what’s happened. I think the people there on the streets like put fire on the garda car and they should know what happened before, you know.
“We are here to work. Most of the people are here to work hard. And make the economy of the country go better. The work we do here is good for the country. It’s good for themselves, you know, they just have hate.”
On Friday morning, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris described the riots as “disgraceful”, and confirmed a total of 34 arrests have been made for public order offences so far.
Drew Harris said we have not seen public disorder like this before
We have seen people take a thimbleful of facts and add a bathful of assumptions.
He denied there was any failure by Gardaí in their response | Read more: https://t.co/yxKRwiWaG6 pic.twitter.com/0ziEQ7FSgk
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) November 24, 2023
Three Dublin buses and a Luas tram were destroyed through arson during the chaos, while 13 shops have been significantly damaged or subject to looting.
A number of Gardaí were attacked during the unrest, with one member said to be seriously injured.
11 garda vehicles were also destroyed or extensively damaged.
