A juvenile has been arrested on suspicion of murder following the fatal stabbing of a man in Ongar, Dublin 15 on Tuesday evening.
Gardaí believe the victim of the attack, Aaron Keating, who was in his 40s, was targeted outside shops on Ongar Main Street at about 7pm after an earlier altercation in the area. It is understood the attacker ran from the scene down a nearby laneway.
The victim was conscious for a period after being wounded but then slumped to the ground and became unresponsive. The emergency services were called immediately and the man was treated on the street by paramedics.
He was taken by ambulance to Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown but was pronounced dead a short time later. Gardaí then began a murder investigation.
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Suspicion of murder
In a statement on Wednesday, the force said gardaí from Blanchardstown had earlier arrested a male teenager on suspicion of the man’s murder.
“The juvenile is currently detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 at a Garda station in west Dublin,” it said in a statement.
There were a number of witnesses at the scene and the area was also covered by CCTV from nearby businesses. Gardaí urged people not to share footage of the aftermath of the attack, which show local people going to the victim’s aid before paramedics arrived. It has been circulating on social media.
It is understood a number of bystanders who saw the stabbing were also present minutes earlier when a confrontation believed to have preceded the fatal attack took place.
Evidence gathering
The area where the murder occurred was sealed off immediately by gardaí and was secured overnight. It was being examined by members of the Garda Technical Bureau on Wednesday morning as part of the evidence gathering phase of the inquiry. A postmortem was due to be carried out on the deceased man on Wednesday.
Gardaí have also spoken to some of the witnesses who were at the scene and more substantive statements are expected to be taken on Wednesday.
Mr Keating’s family has been contacted and informed of his death and a Garda family liaison officer has been appointed to assist them
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact gardaí at Blanchardstown on (01) 6667000, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any garda station.
