Misinformation surrounding an incident in Dublin yesterday in which a probationer garda was attacked has been described as "concerning".
A man in his 20s, who is an Irish citizen and born in Ireland, remains in custody after he was arrested in connection with the incident on Capel Street in the city centre, shortly after 6pm.
The garda who was on a high visibility patrol was attacked and stabbed in what gardaí say was an unprovoked attack.
He was taken to hospital for treatment and later discharged.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Assistant Garda Commissioner for the Dublin Metropolitan Region Paul Cleary, said there was a lot of misinformation about the incident circulated online.
"We have some people with their own agenda trying to use incidents like this to inflame situations for their own ends," he said.
"There was very inaccurate misinformation and disinformation that went out online after this incident very quickly, he said, adding that gardaí "would always say to people to make sure that they get their information from credible media sources".
Mr Cleary said a Senior Investigating Officer is leading the inquiry and said "it's crucial that in addition to gathering the evidence to bring the offender to justice, we also want to understand the motivation behind the attack."
He said he is confident gardaí have adequate support on the job.
"Every garda going out on duty every day is aware of the potential risks ... if you take this particular incident, for example, the official issue stab proof vest did its job.
"They [responding gardaí] were able to use the equipment made available to them to subdue the suspect immediately and to detain him, and that went hand-in-hand with their training.
"I'm happy that they do have supports available to them, going out on their high-visibility patrols," he added.
Mr Cleary said that as soon as the call went out yesterday, gardaí were on the scene quickly.
"The place was swarmed with gardaí in less than a minute, and it shows that guards are active and visible and around in the city, that they're able to assist so quickly."
Mr Cleary said that the suspect had not come to the attention of gardaí previously, and that the investigation was ongoing.
