Latest news with #DavidHyland
Daily Mail
08-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Dystopian moment hardworking mechanic's auto shop is overrun by huge mob of weapon-wielding 'pranksters'
A mob of people dressed as auto mechanics and armed with tire irons and other tools stormed an Arizona man's auto body shop, all in the name of a social media prank. David Hyland, 50, was at his Tempe-based Hyland Auto Repair shop on the afternoon of July 3 when two unfamiliar men approached the garage, boldly claiming that they planned to take over his business, AZ Family reported. Within seconds, more than a dozen people poured out of a white van and swarmed the shop's garage, leaving employees bewildered and fearing a potential crime. 'We didn't know if it was a robbery. We didn't know if they were going to start grabbing equipment,' Hyland told the outlet. 'We had no idea what was going on. It happened quickly,' he added. Security cameras captured the first two men approaching employees standing just outside the garage's entrance. The interaction took an unsettling turn when the men claimed they'd been sent to take over Hyland's business and a van suddenly sped up and screeched to a halt beside the puzzled group of mechanics. Hyland described what initially looked like an ambush as '20 guys with tire irons, impact wrenches, and screwdrivers' who ran inside and began inspecting cars and equipment, AZ Family reported. The tools were 'all items used to work on a car but can also be used as weapons,' he noted. 'We didn't know if they were grabbing stuff and stealing it or just filming a prank.' Beyond the threat of potential violence, Hyland also feared for the safety of those wreaking havoc inside his shop. 'I was very concerned,' he told the outlet. 'There are lots of things you could get tripped on, slip and fall, vehicles in the air - they physically climbed under vehicles, under the hoods,' he added. At this point, Hyland called the police and closed his shop for the day. He was also concerned for his customers, worried the intruders might have damaged the vehicles inside. 'All the vehicles that they did lean into or open the doors on, we did call our clients and have them come down and look at their vehicles to make sure nothing was damaged,' Hyland told AZ Family. Following the bizarre prank, the shop (pictured) closed for the day as Hyland and his team reviewed their inventory to ensure nothing had been stolen, then began reaching out to every customer whose car was inside Staff eventually discovered that the invasion was nothing more than a social-media stunt. Tempe police confirmed reports of a content creator pulling similar pranks at other businesses and said they are investigating, the outlet reported. The creator, who goes by Heston James on TikTok, has shared several videos to the platform showing stunts done at car dealerships and department stores. He did not respond to an inquiry from AZ Family.
Irish Examiner
20-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
David Hyland: 'We were sick to our teeth over Leinster'
Kildare defender David Hyland is satisfied with the progress Tailteann Cup semi-finalists Kildare have made in a short space of time. The Lilywhites were beaten by Offaly in the Division 3 league final in late March and then exited the Leinster championship to Louth. But they've since blazed a trail through the Tailteann Cup and will meet Fermanagh in Sunday's semi-final at Croke Park. Hyland said Kildare's sweet quarter-final win over Offaly, turning the tables on two previous losses to the Faithful this season, proved just how much their young group has come on. "If you look at the performance we put in that day in the league final, and the performance we put in last weekend, it's chalk and cheese," said centre-back and ex-captain Hyland. "The development of the team has come a long way in the last two months or so." Kildare have clearly taken the Tailteann Cup seriously and appear desperate to win it. "We were sick to our teeth with the way Leinster turned out," continued Hyland. "We played the first two games of the Tailteann Cup and then after the Tipperary game we sat down on the Monday night and said, 'Look, we have an eight-week block now to go and win the Tailteann Cup'. "We talked about what that means for this team's development and also that it would secure Sam Maguire Cup football next year because that's ultimately why we're here, what we want to do. "After that, it was all shoulders to the wheel really. So I think it was that third game really where we knuckled down and said, 'Right, this is what we're after, four more games, let's go and win this Tailteann Cup'." Yet the experienced Athy man said that with silverware now in sight, they haven't allowed their focus to drift beyond Sunday's semi-final. "We can't because we haven't performed very well in Croke Park over the last number of years," he said. "So we need to get that off our back. And it's going to be a huge challenge obviously. It's all top teams that are left in the competition." Kildare have lost five league and championship games in a row at Croke Park since last winning a game there, a 2022 Leinster semi-final against Westmeath. And prior to that they'd lost 17 of their 24 Croke Park outings, across the league and championship, since contesting an All-Ireland semi-final in 2010. But boss Brian Flanagan has a talented bunch of young players at his disposal, many of whom contested All-Ireland U-20 finals in 2022 and 2023, winning the latter. Several more were U-20 winners in 2018. The Tailteann Cup may even be the best environment for those young players to learn their trade, though Hyland isn't sure. "I tend to disagree with that," he said. "I think the young guys we have here at the moment would be well able to mix it with the likes of a Down, a Clare, some of the teams that are in the Sam Maguire this year. We have to play the cards we were dealt obviously but I think that would have brought us on a bit more if we were in it." Attacker Jimmy Hyland looks set to miss out again with a lower leg injury and there are question marks over the fitness of Callum Bolton, Ben McCormack and Ryan Houlihan.
