A man was arrested in rural County Kerry yesterday evening after threatening Gardaí with a machete.
A Garda spokesperson told Gript that, “Listowel Gardaí received a report of a burglary and criminal damage incident at approximately 7:45pm on Monday 8th July 2024 at a residence in Rylane, Abbeyfeale, Co. Kerry.”
“Upon arrival at the scene, Gardaí encountered a male armed with a machete, who refused to comply with their directions. The male threatened a number of Garda members with the machete before fleeing the scene into nearby forestry.”
An Garda Síochána said that assistance was sought from a number of Garda units including the Armed Support Unit, the Air Support Unit and the Dog Unit.
“A cordon was put in place and an extensive search of the area was conducted,” it said.
“The male was located a short time later and he continued to act in a threatening manner towards Gardaí.”
The Garda Armed Support Unit used less-than-lethal force devices including tasers to bring the man under control.
The man, who is in his 30s, was arrested and brought to Listowel Garda Station and is currently detained under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 at a Garda Station in Co. Kerry.
Gardaí say a number of scenes are currently preserved for technical examination and investigations into these incidents are ongoing.
The Sunday World reported that the incident involved the male who was taken into custody attempting to demolish his own family home with the use of a digger.
It was reported that the man buried his own car in an area of forest before driving the digger at the house in efforts to knock it down, terrifying members of his family.
After Gardaí arrived on the scene and the digger was taken out of the man’s control he reportedly ran off into the woods and some time later returned with another digger allegedly stolen from nearby.