‘They were laughing’ — Dublin man’s shock after being attacked in broad daylight

A Dublin-based man has spoken of his shock after he was attacked by a group of teens in broad daylight.

Mustafa Aker, 27, was walking by Grand Canal Dock on June 5 when he was bashed in the face by a stick so hard that it broke. Mustafa told Dublin Live Live: “I was walking and I saw four teenagers. They were waiting around the corner. I passed them and I sensed someone behind me and when I turned around, a stick hit my nose.

“He was probably going to hit my head but I turned around and got hit in my nose instead. I was shocked and didn’t know what to do. I held my nose and I asked them why they did it. They just laughed and ran away.”

Read more: Man, 60s, hospitalised after ‘unprovoked’ Dublin city centre assault

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Mustafa added: “I am from Turkey. These kinds of things happen more in Turkey but I’ve never experienced this in Ireland before.”

Even though it happened in broad daylight with plenty of people on the street, Mustafa said only two came to his rescue. He added: “There were people around me but only two people helped. Because people are scared of the teenagers.

“I heard lots of stories about this. People are scared to approach because if they touch the teenagers, they’ll go to jail.”

Mustafa claimed he called the guards but nobody showed up. He said: “I walked to Ringsend Garda Station and there was just one garda in there. He told me that the station had three officers but two of them were on patrol.

“I’m not blaming the teenagers or the Garda. This isn’t about the teenagers. They are a victim of the system. They need education, they need to learn how to behave in society.

“I think the system is problematic, not the teenagers. I’m blaming the education and legal system. There have to be consequences.”

A Garda spokesman said: “Gardai are investigating an alleged assault which occurred on the evening of June 5, 2024. No arrests have been made at this time.”

Worryingly, Mustafa is not the only immigrant who has been targeted by these teen gangs. We reported earlier this week how a man was left bloodied by a gang of youths in a vicious assault.

Separately, Karan (name changed on request) told Dublin Live about a terrifying encounter where he came close to being attacked but was thankfully rescued by a Good Samaritan.

Karan explained he was walking home on June 25 after having finished his shift at a pub in Inchicore when he was approached by three boys in their late teens. He said: “They’re about 5’11, well-built, muscular guys. One of them turns to me and says something. Now, I work in a pub so I’m very used to conversing with people whether it be my customers or people walking by. I’ll say hi, hello, how are you.

“I take my earphones out and say, ‘I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you. Could you say it again?’ He says, ‘Give me your phone, your wallet, and everything you have on you’.

“They all circled around me. I was terrified. I was like, ‘Okay, I guess this is going down’. I was stumped because I wasn’t expecting it. I just came from an environment of happy, lovely people who were having a good time.”

He added: “Either way, if I were to give them everything I had, I was still getting beaten up. If I resisted, I was getting beaten up. I’m standing there petrified. They all are having a laugh looking at my face.“

Karan described his panic as he stood there, staring at the teenagers, fearing the absolute worst. He said: “Luckily, there was an Asian man walking from the back and he just touched my shirt and said, ‘Walk, walk, walk!’

“He grabbed me, pulled me out of that, and kept walking. I was just too stunned to respond to anything. I just heard, ‘Keep walking’. And I kept walking. That man is a hero to me.”

Karan said he’s never experienced anything like it before. He said: “I’ve been here almost a year. I can’t walk in Dublin without looking over my shoulder every two minutes. I’m from Mumbai and I can walk in Mumbai at whatever time I want and not worry about someone behind me trying to chop me.

“Different places in India have different stories but I’ve never had this experience of wanting to look over my shoulder.”

Karan said he’s also been left stumped after being subjected to racial abuse by children. He said: “The other day I was running down the canal and there are three little boys, barely 10. They look at me and say, ‘Oi, go back to where the f**k you came from’. 10-year-old boys!”

He added: “I come here, I pay massive fees in education, I pay a crazy amount of taxes, I get zero benefits out of it. I knew all about the fees and taxes when I was coming here. The only thing I expect the government to do for me is ensure I’m safe and that I don’t have to look over my shoulder every two minutes.”

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