Gardaí are investigating a petrol bomb attack in Cork in which a 22-year-old man suffered serious burn injuries and his nine-year-old sister was left needing treatment for smoke inhalation.
The attack happened at about 6am on Monday on Clarke’s Road in Ballyphehane when a petrol bomb was thrown through a downstairs window of a two-storey terraced property.
The owner of the house, a woman in her mid-40s, was away for the night but her son (22) suffered serious burns to his arms, hands, legs and head when the fire spread upstairs.
It is understood he was injured while helping his sister escape from the house. He lowered her from an upstairs window to a neighbour below.
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Both the man and the girl were taken by ambulance to Cork University Hospital.
He is being treated in the hospital’s intensive care unit and gardaí are waiting for permission from doctors to speak to him about the attack.
The girl was treated for smoke inhalation. She is expected to be discharged in the coming days.
Gardaí declared the house a crime scene and preserved the property.
Garda technical experts began a forensic examination of the house after it was made safe by firefighters.
Officers began door-to-door inquiries and have also begun canvassing for CCTV footage to assist them in their investigation.
Gardaí say they do not believe the attack is connected to another petrol bomb attack on a house in Rochestown last week.
A petrol bomb was thrown through the front door of a house at Silverbirch on Monastery Road in Rochestown at about 12.30am on February 16th.
A woman in her 40s and a 13-year-old boy escaped uninjured from the house but a 24-year-old man fractured his ankles when he jumped from an upstairs bedroom.
Gardaí are appealing for anyone with information to contact them at the Bridewell Garda station on 021 4943330.
