Tallaght teen shouted ‘we're off to get a foreigner' before vicious attack on Indian man
The man, who had only arrived in Ireland a week previously after being brought over by Amazon because he is a specialist in his field, was on his way to a nearby temple to pray.
He didn't pay much attention to the teenagers continued down the road almost 500 metres before he was suddenly and savagely set upon. The brutal attack is now being investigated as a possible hate crime by gardaí. Pic: KarlM Photography/Shutterstock
The young father of an 11-month-old child was beaten, had his face slashed, was stripped naked from the waist down and had his phone and money taken.
The teenagers made off with his clothes leaving him crawling half naked on the ground.
Speaking to Extra.ie, local mother Jennifer Murray spoke of how she came to the man's aid, put him in the recovery position, as it looked as if he was about to pass out, and reassured him he was not going to die. Jennifer Murray. Pic: Seán Dwyer
Footage was taken of the attack by the teenagers involved and within seconds was shared on Snapchat to other teens in the area.
The man was accused without any evidence of being a 'paedophile'. Jennifer Murray. Pic: Seán Dwyer
The brutal attack, which happened along Parkhill Road, in Kilnamanagh, Tallaght, Dublin on Saturday at 6pm, is now being investigated as a possible hate crime by gardaí.
Ms Murray told how the lie spread instantly around social media and how the victim was assaulted for a second time by another gang of teenagers and, also, grown men.
One man got out of his car, walked over and punched him as Ms Murray tried to help the man. He also roared at the brave mother not to help him. The incident happened along Parkhill Road, in Kilnamanagh, Tallaght, Dublin on Saturday at 6pm. Pic: Seán Dwyer
'For that man to get up and come out on to a road looking for help to be further attacked is beyond the realms of understanding,' Ms Murray told Extra.ie.
'Teenagers are stupid, their frontal lobes haven't developed, but the adults, grown men pulling over cars to go over and punch him is beyond comprehension.'
She said the victim was 'in a terrible state'. Blood was dripping from his head and out of his nose as she tried desperately to help him.
'Then I realised they had stripped him. He was highly embarrassed. He had no clothes on and was giving me his name, address and company he worked for. I told him this never should have happened to you, you are important, your life is important.' Jennifer Murray. Pic: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie
Ms Murray said if she and another woman hadn't intervened she fears the man would have died.
'They did the initial damage of stabbing him, beating him, forcing his clothes off and robbing his phone. Then they robbed him of his dignity. They took his clothes, there were no clothes around where it happened. They didn't even leave his clothes so he could crawl and put them back on. They took his clothing with his phone and his money during the attack.
'Another woman was telling them to stop then I intervened. I think he was lucky we were there because, given the extent of his injuries, he easily could have been killed.' Ms Murray said she sat and reassured the man as they waited for gardaí and an ambulance.
'He was incredibly polite and incredibly brave. He trusted me which must have been so hard, after he was met with so much aggression.
'I didn't want him to think he was going to die. I was trying to reassure him he will be OK, even though he will probably never be OK again.'
The man told gardaí he had been punched in the head, but injuries he sustained showed a blade was used on his face. One deep cut to his forehead was almost two inches long.
The victim has been deeply traumatised and is experiencing problems with his vision.
'I am in touch with him every day since,' Ms Murray said this weekend. 'He is extremely traumatised.
'He is out of hospital, but back in most days because he is having trouble with his eyesight and for wound dressing. He will forever be physically scarred, but I think the mental scars will be more detrimental to him,' she said.
Since the brutal attack, the man has stayed mostly in his bedroom. He doesn't feel comfortable around more than two people at any one time.
'That's his limit and the whole PTSD crowd thing kicks in and he has to go back into his room.
'I have found an Indian psychotherapist to work with him when he is ready. He needs this as much as he needs medical treatment.
'At the moment he genuinely needs to be on his own, he is completely traumatised,' she said. Ms Murray told how the man has been shielded from the lies spread about him. She doesn't want to tell him he was attacked is because of the colour of his skin.
'How do you tell someone who is completely innocent that this is why that happened to him?' she asked.
'He won't understand why this is being said about him and then you have to explain it's because of the colour of your skin. And that's the real truth. He was first attacked because he was Indian and then further attacked because of the lies that were spread about him.'
A woman who saw and heard the teenage gang target the victim has come forward to gardaí, but she doesn't want to be identified out of fear for her own safety.
Ms Murray told Extra.ie this woman was in the playground with her child when she saw the gang nearby. They weren't causing trouble and she didn't feel overly intimidated by them.
She noticed the Indian man walk past. Nothing was said to the man at the time, but as he walked away the gang split.
'Where are you going?' asked one of the teenage gang. Another said: 'We're off to get a foreigner.'
The woman is 'riddled with guilt' because she didn't intervene before it was too late.
'She didn't expect a group of teenagers to go from a group of messers to a group of potential murderers in minutes,' said Ms Murray.
'The guards were here with me on Tuesday for three or four hours and they said: 'This is not normal'.
'Aside from the attack, the verbal abuse and the hatred surrounding him as he lay bleeding on the ground is simply a product of an untruth. 'This man was just out for a walk.'
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