Pensioner beaten with hammer and mugged in afternoon attack in Tallaght
By Mary Dennehy
A MAN has been arrested in relation to a vicious afternoon mugging on a senior citizen in Tallaght this week, which saw the victim threatened and attacked with a hammer.
The Echo understands that the man, who is in his seventies, had withdrawn cash from a bank in Walkinstown early Tuesday afternoon and travelled by bus to visit his brother in Springfield, Tallaght.
After disembarking from the bus, the man was walking through Alderwood when a masked mugger threatened him with a hammer and demanded he hand over his money.
Investigating officers told The Echo that a struggle ensued, which resulted in the victim receiving blows from the hammer to his head and hands – an incident which was witnessed by a number of residents, who contacted Tallaght Garda Station.
A senior Garda source told The Echo: “The call came into Tallaght Garda Station at around 2pm and a patrol car was immediately dispatched.
“There was a patrol car in the nearby vicinity and when it arrived on the scene, the culprit had just fled.
“He was pursued by officers and apprehended – and a weapon and quantity of cash were recovered nearby.
The source added: “The man set upon was very shook and received injuries to his hands and head – all of which were not life-threatening.
“He was brought by ambulance to Tallaght Hospital for observation and Gardaí would like to thank members of the public for reporting the incident – they helped to ensure that this man’s injuries weren’t more serious and also helped officers in getting an arrest.”
Officers arrested a man at the scene in Alderwood on Tuesday and at the time of The Echo going to print on Wednesday, he was still being detained at Tallaght Garda Station.
Aged in his mid-twenties, the man arrested is not from Tallaght and the Garda source, at this stage of the investigation, could not confirm if the victim was followed from the bank in Walkinstown or whether it was an opportunistic crime.
