After a migrant rapes a 10-year-old, a police helicopter is struck by a laser, sparking riots in Ireland.

After a 10-year-old child was allegedly sexually assaulted at a Dublin, Ireland, hotel, protests broke out. A police helicopter was attacked by laser lights as the protests, which drew some 2,000 demonstrators, descended into violence outside the Citywest Hotel, which shelters asylum seekers. Officers were attacked with lasers and fireworks, and a police van was set on fire. Additionally, some people were observed brandishing garden forks on the streets, according to the Gardai (Irish police).

According to Sky News, the protest was so severe that the police used a water cannon for the first time in the nation.

The culprit, who is allegedly African, has been taken into custody by the police. According to Sky News, when the 26-year-old defendant appeared in court, an Arabic interpreter was called.

Six people were arrested as a result of the Tuesday night riots that broke out in the Dublin suburb of Saggart. Locals and those who came to protest were incensed by the claimed assault, but what started out as a march swiftly turned into a riot.

According to the BBC, one female officer was treated for a foot injury after lasers were fired at the police helicopter.

Protesters were observed hurling pyrotechnics and stones at Gardai, with some shielding their faces during the altercations, according to the UK’s Daily Mail. Despite the deployment of public order units, including officers on horseback and dog units, a police van was set on fire during the protests.

“Garda Public Order Units were deployed in full protective equipment and utilised incapacitant spray to repel sustained physical attacks on police personnel,” the Garda stated in a statement.

It was called “thuggery” and “a mob intent on violence against Garda” by Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly, who denounced the assault.

According to the BBC, some demonstrators attempted to break through the police perimeter by storming with sulkies pulled by horses and brandishing garden forks and other implements as weapons.

Using social media, test calls were made.

Police said that police officers were called in for this public event, which was organized by several social media groups that incite violence and hatred while also luring others to participate.

Jim O’Callaghan, Ireland’s Justice Minister, denounced the violence and repeated pleas for calm. “This is unacceptable and the Garda will respond with force,” he said. Those responsible will be held accountable. O’Callaghan also emphasized that the violence is motivated by a criminal minority instilling fear in the community, not the people of Saggart.

According to the Justice Minister, “People threw fireworks at them, threw missiles at Gardai, and set a Gardai vehicle on fire,” the Daily Mail reported.

Authorities are still looking into the violence and are keeping an eye out for such events.

An asylum hotel was the scene of the alleged sexual assault.

According to the Irish Mirror, a foreign national guy who is thought to be of African heritage allegedly sexually abused the 10-year-old Irish girl.

The incident is alleged to have occurred on the grounds of the Citywest Hotel in Dublin on Monday morning, not inside the building, according to the report.

Investigators are trying to determine how the little child, who has been in care, got to the hotel because she wasn’t staying there.

Officers were alerted to the scene where they found the girl, believed to be in the care of Tusla, the State’s Child and Family Agency. Investigators are attempting to ascertain how she got to the hotel, according to sources, while the Irish Mirror said that she was not sheltered there.

The man was charged with sexual assault, according to Sky News.

According to news agency Reuters, the event occurs two years after anti-immigrant demonstrators stabbed three young children, sparking a large-scale riot in Dublin’s downtown.