A young man was fighting for his life with a bleed on his brain last night after he was attacked at a Dublin Luas stop.
The man, 29, is believed to have been on his way home on an e-scooter — when he was approached by up to 10 teenagers at the Georges Dock Luas stop on Sunday night. Sources say he was brutally beaten during an altercation with the gang and that following this, two other youths stole the e-scooter from him.
The attack has been described as being a random and unprovoked and the theft of the scooter may have been a crime of opportunity, rather than the original motive for the attack, sources say. It is understood the man was left with a bleed on the brain and a fractured skull during the shocking incident that occurred just before 9pm.
Read more: Man tells of 'horrific' experience of lad threating to beat him up on Luas
Gardaí from Store Street Garda Station are investigating the assault. It is understood that officers have already garnered CCTV footage and are now working to identify the attackers.
Speaking out last night, Councillor Mannix Flynn described the assault as criminal – and said there is fear on the streets of Dublin over it. “This is not anti-social behaviour, this is criminal behaviour,” he said.
“This is way beyond graffiti or way beyond putting your feet on a seat on a train. This is a serious assault by individuals in the city centre, on top of many, many assaults that have taken place in the city centre. Many of the citizens are feeling very frightened about going in there.”
In a statement gardai appealed for witnesses to come forward. “Gardaí are particularly interested in speaking to anyone who was in the Georges Dock/Irish Financial Services Centre (IFSC) and surrounding areas between 7pm and 9.30pm on the evening of August 7,” they said.
“Anyone with information can contact gardaí at Store Street on 01 666 8000, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.” A Garda investigation into the assault resulted in the Luas Red Line service being shut down between Connolly and the Point stations for a time.
The incident follows a previous assault of a woman in the area that resulted in her tragic death. Urantsetseg Tserendorj was killed on her walk home in the Georges Dock area near Custom House Quay in the IFSC on January 20, 2021.
Read more: Boy accused of murdering Urantsetseg Tserendorj told gardai: 'I did it, I stabbed that girl'
A 16-year-old boy accused of her murder will go on trial for a second time at the Central Criminal Court later this year. The accused pleaded not guilty to the murder of Ms Tserendorj but guilty to her manslaughter – but the State did not accept his plea.
He also pleaded guilty to producing a knife to rob Ms Tserendorj. The attack also follows an incident when delivery rider Thiago Cortes was run over at North Wall Quay in Dublin on August 31, 2020. A 17-year-old was given a two-year detention sentence last year after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing his death.
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