Man wielding knife involved in stand-off with Midlands gardaí

A court has heard how a section of a street in Longford town had to be sealed off after a man armed himself with a knife during a stand off with gardaí.

Walid Bouskia (33), of no fixed abode, was in court last Tuesday charged with the possession of a knife on September 18 this year at Richmond Court, Richmond Street, Longford.

Sgt Mark Mahon, in opening the case for the State, said the incident arose when Mr Bouskia allegedly obtained a kitchen knife inside the premises of the asylum seeker hostel, prompting gardaí to be called.

When officers arrived at the scene, Sgt Mahon said Mr Bouskia was in a “highly agitated and aggressive” state when gardaí arrived on the scene.

He said Mr Bouskia pointed the knife at gardaí before appearing to indicate he was going to use the knife to self harm.

Following that, Sgt Mahon said the accused moved across to a courtyard area and up a flight of stairs, forcing gardaí to cordon off the area.

“He (Mr Bouskia) refused instructions to drop the knife, a stand off ensued for 25 minutes and the area had to be sealed off,” he said.

Judge Owens was also told gardaí had to deploy negotiators to the scene in a bid to resolve the situation.

Defence solicitor Michelle Reynolds revealed Mr Bouskia's behaviour on the day in question was linked to his reluctance to be relocated to another address in Dublin.

She added Mr Bouskia was willing to go to a Donegal Direct Provision Centre if the court sanctioned his release.

Judge Owens, however, said she needed to know what Mr Bouskia's future plans were and where he intended on residing before making a full determination on the case.

Mr Bouskia was remanded in custody.