Residents of a senior citizens complex are living in fear of their lives after three of their neighbours were killed in their homes.
One resident told Dublin Live she was the victim of an attempted mugging two weeks ago when a man entered her home and asked her for money. Sarah Cullen, who has lived in the complex for the past four years, told the man to get out of her home and that she had no money in her flat.
She told Dublin Live: "A fella tried to walk into the hall as I had the door open. I flew out at him and told him to 'get the f**k out of my home'. I did.
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"I told him to get away from my door. 'Have you any money?' No I have no f*****g money.
"It was a Tuesday during the day. We got the police but he was gone. He didn't get the chance [to get anything]."
A neighbour of Sarah's heard the commotion and started shouting at the man to leave. The man threw cans of beer at the neighbour as he left.
"There were three murders in here and there was nothing done", added Sarah. "I am sorry I ever took down here... I am not safe. I only after getting out of hospital with a broken hip."
Another resident said: "It is just that everybody is coming in at night and they are all over the place - riff-raff, junkies, people coming in and parking their cars overnight and throwing their rubbish in our bins.
"We have been to the corporation [Dublin City Council] about the security and getting a gate but we keep getting palmed off.
"We desperately need some form of security. They need to put electric gates out there [at the entrance] to keep the trash out."
Dublin City Council said they have had previous engagements with residents and looked at installing a gate. However, they said "property ownership and fire safety issues" emerged which prevented the gates from being erected.
A spokesman said: "Previously the Area Office engaged an Engineer to assess the option of installing electric gates in Robinsons Court but unfortunately property ownership and fire safety issues were a constraint to coming up with a viable solution.
Bernie O'Toole, who has been living in the last 14 years, said one of the residents who live upstairs was attacked on the stairs. She said: "They think because we are elderly they can come in and do what they like...
"It is not good enough. We should have more protection."
There have been numerous incidents of people wandering into the complex and trying to gain entry into people's homes. In one incident, a group of youths got into one of the flats when the resident was in hospital and had a "drugs party".
Back in 2021, Kwok Ping Cheng, a resident of the complex for five years, was brutally murdered in his complex. The 76-year-old was found "covered in blood" in his own living room by a friend. The residents have been calling for an electric gate and minimal security to prevent anybody walking in off the street.
There were also killings in 2016 and 2006. The residents held a protest on Wednesday morning to call on DCC to put up a gate.
The council told Dublin Live they are conducting a security review of the complex and will report back to the residents in three weeks. A spokesman said: "Dublin City Council’s Area Office was made aware yesterday afternoon of a proposed protest today.
"When informed we carried out a letter drop, advising all residents that we were reviewing all security arrangements in the complex and would meet with the Residents in the next three weeks to update them.
"Dublin City Council is committed to ensuring, as much as possible, the safety of its tenants. In this context we are happy to engage with tenants to develop solutions with the support of An Garda Síochána."
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