A VIDEO TAKEN in Dublin that was falsely said to show a “shopping mall massacre” in which a nine-year-old child was shot by a man carrying explosives, has been shared millions of times on social media. The claim is untrue, and the video is unrelated.
Several posts making this claim appeared online on 1 June, after reports of at a shopping centre in Carlow.
Gardaí quickly stated that a shooting incident had occurred, but within hours explained that the only person who had died was the suspect, from self-inflicted injuries. The suspect was a white, Irish man from the local area.
A girl when she fell while running away from the scene and required attention from paramedics, though did not need hospital care. While the bomb squad had been called in, no explosives were found at the scene. These events are likely to have spurred speculation about a child being shot and explosive vests.
Some of the misinformation that was spread on social media that seven people had been shot; that the gunman was shot dead by Gardaí; and that he was an Islamic terrorist.
However, one viral post about the incident was notable for sharing a video that wasn’t from anywhere near the scene and for including a number of other false claims. It was viewed millions of times.
The post shared a video of Gardaí rushing down a street with sirens blaring in the background, alongside a caption that stated: “Something very serious is unfolding in Ireland right now.
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