Two Polish men are receiving treatment in hospital following an alleged assault in Killarney Court housing complex in Dublin’s north inner city.
The alleged assault occurred on Saturday at around 4.15 pm in the Dublin 1 housing complex, which is home to numerous elderly residents and young families.
It is understood that the men, who were walking past the housing complex, were allegedly attacked by a well-known organised crime group called the Black E-Bike gang.
The two men ran for safety into the complex and were set upon by the gang. Emergency services and gardai located in Store Street were alerted and were on the scene within minutes.
Gardaí cordoned off the scene to allow for technical and forensic examinations to be carried out.
The gang are known to hang out at the world’s first memorial dedicated titled Home to victims of heroin addiction, which was unveiled in 2000 by then President Mary McAleese.
The memorial is located at the corner of Buckingham Street and Sean McDermott Street close to the Five Lamps in the North East Inner City.
In a statement gardaí said that “two males (were) removed from the scene to the Mater Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.”
Garda investigations are ongoing.
Two years ago, several protests were held by Killarney Court residents over fears of attacks which they said at the time were posing threats of “a person being seriously injured or killed due to violent harassment” and that they were “living on their nerves”.
Security measures around the complex had been eased, but residents were demanding that tighter physical security was needed instead of CCTV.
Resident Audrey Clail said at the time: “There are so many age groups of boys from about 10 to 16, 16 to 20 and older now getting in through a security gate, which closes so slowly”.
Clail added: “When they get into the complex they run amok in the courtyard, get in through inner doors, have broken windows, destroyed the communal area and broken a library door.
"In the past they have banged on apartment doors, terrifying us with all sorts of verbal abuse, with numerous residents placing chairs underneath the handles of their doors to try to stop them getting in.
“One man who is almost 90 had water thrown over him, which left him terrified. Others have had all types of food hitting them.”
In a statement, gardaí said they were aware of security issues at Killarney Court and were proactively patrolling and monitoring the area.
