A SERIOUS incident in Dublin which saw three men injured in a suspected knife attack ‘could have been a lot worse’ says Ireland’s Justice Minister.
Minister Jim O’Callaghan has praised the speed with which the emergency forces responded to the incident in Stoneybatter, North Dublin on the afternoon of Sunday, January 9.
Three men were assaulted during the incident, which happened at around 3pm, An Garda Síochána confirmed, two of whom sustained serious but not life-threatening injuries.
Gardai on patrol after the attack in StoneybatterThe third man was treated in hospital for his injuries.
Minister Jim O’Callaghan said had the gardai not arrived at the scene “extremely fast”, the situation “could have been a lot worse”.
A man, aged in his late 20s, who was arrested the scene, remains in custody.
“We could have been sitting here talking about more serious injuries against a greater number of people or we could have, I regret to say, been talking about fatalities had the gardai not arrived promptly,” Minister O’Callaghan said following the attack.
Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan“I want to commend the gardai and particularly the guard who arrived there first who apprehended and disarmed the individual concerned, but also the gardai got there very quickly and had they not, I fear we could have been talking about something much worse this morning, rather than the three serious injuries that took place,” he added.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin also made a statement following the incident, urging anyone with information about the attack to contact Gardai.
“Our thoughts are with the victims of the shocking attacks in Stoneybatter,” he said.
“I want to pay tribute to the Gardai and emergency services for their prompt response.
“I wish all those injured a full recovery and urge anyone with any information to contact Gardai.”