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Family shocked by beating as Irish student remains critical

By
PATRICK COOPER,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer
Published Monday, April 26, 2010, 8:18 AM
Updated Monday, April 26, 2010, 8:35 AM

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Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen with Natasha McShane


Natasha McShane remains in a critical condition in a Chicago hospital Monday after being brutally beaten by a baseball bat early last Friday morning in the Bucktown area of the city, and her family is in shock as the 23-year-old has never been involved in anything like this in her life.

“Her parents are devastated,” grandmother Bernadette McShane told the Belfast Telegraph.

The Irish student is the eldest of a family of five and her parents are with her as she fights for her life.

“They are at her bedside. She is getting first class treatment at the hospital. We are just waiting on news. We hope to get her back the way she was.”

McShane remains critical, and though Doctors at the Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center carried out a procedure to relieve some of the pressure on her brain, the exact nature of the her injuries are not yet known.

McShane was on her way home with friend Stacey Jurich, who is in a stable condition, when the attack occurred.  Jurich was able to give a description of the attacker but no arrests have been made.

Chicago police departments, Sgt Walter Chudzik said the two women were attacked from behind.

“The area where it happened has a lot of bars and restaurants and people hanging around at that time of night. There are predators there that prey on people on a night out. There are robberies every few weeks,” said Chudzik.

Due to the savage nature of the attack, Chudzik said that the police department made the decision to assign many officers to the case.

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20 Comments

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Rosebeautiful | Apr 28, 2010, 07:44 PM EDT
Chicago is a beautiful place, just like anywhere else it has ugly people. But we are not all like that, there are a lot of compasionate people here and it's very sad that something like this would happen. Sadly it happens everywhere even in the most remote place in America something tragic can happen. So sorry for the family

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Rosebeautiful | Apr 28, 2010, 07:41 PM EDT
Unbelievable, I am from Chicago and I am so sadden by this. Bucktown is a very up and coming area and I can't believe this has happened. My prayers go out to the family.

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JBRAFTREE | Apr 28, 2010, 08:08 AM EDT
Christisail. Not true at all!!! There are good areas and not so good areas like anyplace else. I'll bet you can point to areas where you live that could be called "Armpit Heaven" too. Our hearts go out to Natasha and her family. Chicago will give these offenders their just due.

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JBRAFTREE | Apr 28, 2010, 06:21 AM EDT
The alleged offenders are now in Police custody. They are a Hispanic couple and are members of a gang.

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lloydde | Apr 27, 2010, 11:58 PM EDT
Snowdrop, the small hairspray sounds like a great idea to me. I would prefer ROACH spray for scum like this though! So they have two in custody alright but the way the criminal "justice" system is, they won't be in jail long! Imagine the nerve to use the cellphones and credit cards of the victims of an attempted murder! Yeah, "lord" Obama is from there. Murders up the wazoo, crime and more crime. I wouldn't live there if they gave me a free house. Lord, I couldn't afford to protect it and my family! My prayers are for both these young ladies!

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Christisall | Apr 27, 2010, 04:39 PM EDT
Chicago is the armpit of the world; it produced the likes of obama, didn't it? NOthing but thugs there.

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vickys777 | Apr 27, 2010, 12:39 PM EDT
this attack is horrible. i feel for the families of this attack. they are in my prayers

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Snowdrop | Apr 27, 2010, 03:50 AM EDT
Everyone seems to have a cell phone that photographs. Use it for criminal faces and license plates.

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Snowdrop | Apr 27, 2010, 03:48 AM EDT
Young women must be trained to physicall protect w/ karate, judo or the like, discouraged to be in certain areas, and carry a small cheap can of hairspray [more platic in the cheap brands], and know how to use pepper spray...aimed right for the eyes, then run!

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lloydde | Apr 27, 2010, 12:04 AM EDT
Interesting the note regarding Newark and Camden...quite true! I note that any city with a preponderance of blacks will have a huge crime rate, especially violent crimes too! ciarrai sure has it right, this sick prick needs to die! BUT will he IF he is caught? Hell no he won't. The criminal "justice" system just plain SUCKS! manhattan, we sure ARE going to hell and fast too!

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AmericanLassie | Apr 26, 2010, 08:16 PM EDT
FYI: If the woman was from Romania, instead of Ireland, it still would have been big news. It is just big on this website, because the site is for and about the Irish. I'm speaking as an American. We don't look at Polish or Romanians, etc, in the same way as the Irish or Brits. There is a different perspective here.

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Renfield | Apr 26, 2010, 08:10 PM EDT
SouthSideIrish: You hit the nail on the head. The same situation exists in New Jersey, where certain parts of Newark and Camden and so dangerous that police patrol only in large groups. (I think that Newark recently celebrated its first murder-free month in 44 years.) But those places are so obviously unsafe that nobody who doesn't have to go there ever does. It is the places that are sunny and bustling in the daytime but very different at 3 a.m. that pose the greatest danger to the unsuspecting or naive. The police should set up sting operations. Have a couple of young-looking female officers walk around together at 3 a.m. They would probably bag 20 thugs a night.

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AmericanLassie | Apr 26, 2010, 08:03 PM EDT
It is interesting that some of the Chicago papers do not include the race in the description of the criminal responsible for this horrible crime. Political correctness run amok! I found out the perpetrator was a black man. No wonder Chicago is having terrible problems. They racked up OVER 100 murders in 2010!

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ciarrai | Apr 26, 2010, 04:30 PM EDT
Does the savage who did this deserve to breathe another breath? I say no and I wish they would kill him when they get a hold of him. I don't care what a deprived childhood he had. What is germane is that he has ruined one or two lives and sent the families to a hellish place. It is way beyond the time for treating crimes against defenseless people in a methodical and reasonable manner. This sick prick needs to die.

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SouthSideIrish | Apr 26, 2010, 02:37 PM EDT
Oh, I see - censored. Umm; no comments.

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