Gardaí in Cork are following a definite line of inquiry following an incident in which a man was attacked by two other men as he waited to be treated in a hospital casualty room in Cork city early yesterday morning.
The incident happened while a man in his 20s was waiting to be treated at the accident and emergency (A&E) department at the Mercy University Hospital at around 4 a.m. yesterday and two other men in their 20s burst in and assaulted him.
The two assailants were armed with a baseball bat and a pepper cannister spray which they released.
A number of other patients in the A&E area had to be treated as did a security man who suffered an injury to his head requiring six staples.
According to a Garda source, the incident in the casualty department was a sequel to an earlier altercation in the city centre.
Gardaí are studying CCTV footage to establish what exactly happened earlier on the streets.
Detectives have interviewed a number of witnesses from the hospital and have spoken to two suspects about the attack.
"All parties involved in this are local and we're following a definite line of inquiry," said a Garda source.
The A&E area had to be evacuated and closed for a number of hours after the pepper spray attack.
It is understood that two members of the nursing staff had also to be treated after receiving pepper spray in their eyes.