Two males have been arrested in connection to a serious assault on a teenage girl and boy that took place last week in the Ballyfermot area of Dublin.
Garda from Ballyfermot and Clondalkin conducted a number of searches on Thursday morning and arrested two male adult teenagers in relation to a serious assault that took place in the vicinity of the Civic Offices Ballyfermot Road on December 30, 2021.
Both males are detained at Garda stations in west Dublin under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984.
Gardaí at Ballyfermot are appealing for witnesses who may not yet have come forward and in particular, motorists who may have dashcam footage from Ballyfermot Road between approximately 9:15 pm and 10 pm on December 30 and to contact them at Ballyfermot Garda Station 6667200 or the Garda Confidential line 1800 666 111.
According to the Independent.ie it's understood that both men have previously come to the attention of Gardaí but do not have criminal convictions.
One of the suspects has previously been arrested by Gardaí after being caught with small amounts of cocaine and cannabis for the purpose of sale and supply.
A number of items, including mobile phones, were seized as evidence during the searches and these will now be examined in a bid to determine if they contain forensic evidence that links the arrested suspects to the attack.
One of the victims of the attack, seventeen-year-old Alanna Quinn Idris, was left with severe facial injuries - including a ruptured eyeball, broken bones to her cheek and eye socket, as well as broken teeth - while her male friend sustained knife injuries.
Alanna Quinn Idris was left with severe facial injuries. Credit: GoFundMe
The two teens were taken by ambulance to St. James Hospital for treatment for their injuries. Three-hour emergency surgery was performed on Quinn Idris' eye but the damage is so extensive that there is a 90 percent chance she may never regain sight in that eye.
It's been reported that she is now home from the hospital but is facing further surgery on her eye, as well as an operation to repair the damage to her cheekbones and eye socket.
A GoFundMe page was organized in a bid to help Quinn Idris and the injured man. More than €79,000 has been raised to date, with donations set to be split equally between Quinn Idris and her friend.
In an Instgram post after her surgery, the seventeen-year-old thanked everyone for the support she has recieved since the attack.
"I just want to start this post off by saying thank you so so much to everyone who’s sent me a message over the past few days. I’ve been absolutely showered with love and support by so many kind hearts," she wrote.
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Speaking on the GoFundMe page, Quinn Idris' mother also expressed her gratitude towards the public and also commented that she and her family had made the decision to move from the area where they live because of fear for their safety.
"We as a family have unfortunately decided that relocating to a different area might be the best option for us. We will feel safer.
"It breaks my heart to potentially leave our home and the area I have lived in all my life but I will never be comfortable letting my children out to socialize in this area again and we cannot live like that. A fresh start is what we need," she wrote.
According to reports, Quinn Idris' was the target of verbal abuse from a man during a bus journey, and her male friend who she was with intervened to defend her. When they got off the bus the exchange continued and other men arrived onto the scene, at which point the attack became physical.
The group of four men was reportedly armed with a hurley stick, a saddle and seat post from an electric scooter, and a knife.
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The male friend of Quinn Idris, who was also assaulted and suffered knife injuries, has been praised for trying to protect her. A local man had also intervened as Quinn Idris was being attacked.
The Irish Times reported that Gardaí investigating the attack suspect Quinn Idris had been harassed over a prolonged period by members of the group that carried out the attack.
Quinn Idris' mother said her daughter had been “tormented and harassed” by a large “group of young lads” from the Ballyfermot area since she was about 12 years old.
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