Gardaí investigating a dog attack which left a child with life-changing injuries have arrested a woman on suspicion of endangerment.
Alejandro Miszan (9) suffered severe facial injuries when he was attacked by a pitbull terrior in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford a week ago.
The child was out playing near his home in Forgelands at the time. A neighbour hit the dog with a baseball bat to try to end the attack, an intervention described by the boy’s family as heroic.
A woman aged in her 30s was arrested on Monday morning and is currently being questioned in Enniscorthy Garda station. A Garda spokesman said she was detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 which allows gardaí to detain her for up to 12 hours.
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Gardaí are “investigating all the circumstances of the incident” and inquiries are ongoing, the spokeswoman said.
The woman is the second person to be arrested as part of the investigation following the attack on November 27th.
Following the attack, Alejandro was airlifted to Crumlin children’s hospital where he underwent two surgeries. He is expected to spend a month in care.
“We were told he will never be the same again”, his brother Raul Miszan told RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show. “His face is totally destroyed. His lip is gone.”
Mr Miszan said his brother does not know what happened. The injuries also extend to his leg and stomach and he is not able to speak. “Hopefully he will talk again.”
The entire family was in shock and devastated by what had happened, he added.
An online fundraising drive set up by a neighbour of the family has so far raised €162,000 for Alejandro’s recovery.
