Gardaí have renewed their appeal for public assistance as they continue to investigate an assault in Cork which has left a 32-year-old homeless man in a critical condition in hospital after his throat was slashed in a violent assault.
The man, who is originally from Midleton in east Cork, but has been availing of homeless services in the city for a number of years, was attacked when a row broke out with another man near the Daunt Square end of the Grand Parade in Cork city centre at around 7.45pm on Wednesday.
It’s understood that the two men were with a woman and that a row broke out when one of the men returned to the area after buying some drink in a nearby off-licence and the victim was seriously injured when the other man lashed out and slit his throat with a bottle.
The victim was saved from further injury as his assailant was preparing to jab the bottle into his neck only for a passerby, a man to intervene and take the bottle from the assailant who then moved away from the area as people gathered around to try to assist the injured man.
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A doctor and a nurse happened to be in the area and tended to the assault victim, helping to stop him bleeding while members of the Garda Armed Support Unit, who have first aid training, were quickly on the scene and they too assisted in trying to stabilise the man’s condition.
The emergency services were alerted and paramedics from the National Ambulance Service arrived and worked for 30 minutes on the casualty to try to stabilise him before taking him to Cork University Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery.
According to garda sources, the man was extremely fortunate not to die at the scene as he suffered a serious wound to his throat, and he remains in a critical but stable condition at the Intensive Care Unit at Cork University Hospital.
Gardaí arrested a 29-year-old suspect from the Churchfield area of Cork city, near the scene on Grand Parade a short time after and he was conveyed to the nearby Bridewell Garda station for questioning about the assault.
The man was detained under Section of the Criminal Justice Act which allows garda detain suspects for up to 24 hours, but it’s understood that the man’s questioning was suspended overnight, and he can be held until the early hours of Friday morning before he must be charged or released.
Gardaí cordoned off the area and garda scenes of crime investigators have begun an examination while officers also began harvesting footage from CCTV cameras in the surrounding area as well as examining garda cameras which cover Cork city centre.
Gardaí are appealing for any witnesses to this assault to come forward and they particularly want to speak to any road users who were in the Grand Parade or Daunt Square areas between 7.15pm and 8pm on Wednesday night.
They are particularly anxious to speak to any motorists or pedestrians who may have camera footage (including dash cam footage) and they have asked any such witnesses to contact investigators at an incident room set up at the Bridewell Garda station on 021-4943330.
