Five people, including three young children, were injured on Thursday, in the heart of Dublin in what Irish police termed "a serious public order incident."

Irish media said the five casualties had been taken to various hospitals in the Dublin region, some with suspected stab wounds.

Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said police had detained a suspect.

A police spokesperson said the casualties included an adult male, an adult female and three young children.

One child, a girl, is said to have sustained "serious" injuries while the other two children are being treated for "less serious injuries." An adult female is also being treated for "serious" injuries and an adult male for "less serious injuries."

National broadcaster RTE quoted a witness on the scene as saying she saw a man in a "stabbing motion" from across the road and that when she ran closer, she said that two children had been stabbed as far as she could tell.

Anthony Boyle, 31, an IT consultant who lives on the road and was passing by told Reuters, "I saw a child on the ground, a little girl."

"There was complete and utter pandemonium, women wailing, men screaming and crying."

He added that he saw a man lying on his side but did not see the events before.

The Irish Times reported that the detained suspect had sustained wounds believed to be self-inflicted. It said early indications suggested a man tried to attack a number of young people and that passers-by intervened.

The incident took place outside a school in Parnell Square East shortly after 1.30 p.m. local time. There were around 20 officers on the scene that police said remained sealed off.

Irish Justice Minister Helen McEntee said she was "deeply shocked" by the "appalling attack on three innocent children and a woman."