Most stabbings carried out by gangs

Stabbing attacks by gangs armed with small weapons account for the majority of knife wounds seen by hospitals, an accident and emergency consultant has said.

Patients coming to the A&E department of the Mater Hospital, Dublin, with knife injuries have generally been victims of a gang assault, A&E consultant at the Mater, Mr John McInerney said.

These attacks "usually occur in spates" and are either motivated by robbery or by community disputes, Mr McInerney said. "Often it will depend on the particular problems within a local community. If one gang has upset another there can be a series of knifings."

About half the knife wound victims coming to the Mater have been attacked by gangs, the rest are people involved in a "spontaneous incident" such as a domestic stabbing or an opportunistic mugging by a single assailant. Young men in their early twenties represent the vast majority of stabbing victims, Mr McInerney said.

"Army and combat knives are usually responsible for the penetrative injuries.

"Other knives such as Stanley knives and razor blades are more common, because they're smaller and easier to conceal."

Attacks with razors and Stanley knives usually result in "slash wounds", Mr McInerney said.

"Slashing across the face looks horrific but it's the more superficial type of injury."

Only a small number of injuries are caused by kitchen knives and machetes, but wounds from broken glasses and bottles are becoming more common, he said.

Mr McInerney said he has seen "a few deaths" in the last six months from penetrative injuries. The Mater Hospital sees one to two stab wounds each week, generally at the weekend. Mr McInerney said there was often an increase in the number of incidents at holiday weekends or following matches.

"Any time there's a large social gathering, such as after a match or when large amounts of alcohol is consumed as at bank holidays we would see an increase in stab wounds."