A Somalian youth is to be questioned by Gardaí after a fatal stabbing in Donaghmede yesterday in a Tusla residency for unaccompanied minors seeking asylum left a Ukrainian teenager dead and two other young people injured.
The teenager who died has been named as Vadym Davydenko. The 17-year-old suffered multiple stab wounds to his head, eyes, chest and hands following a sustained assault inside an a apartment used by Tusla in Grattan Wood in the north Dublin suburb, reports said.
The victim had only arrived in Ireland in recent days, according to sources. “He had been moved to Tusla accommodation for unaccompanied minors and was due to be transferred to Ukrainian accommodation when he was stabbed by a Somali teenager,” Extra.ie reported.
RTÉ said: “The 17-year-old, who is from Somalia, sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the row at an emergency residential unit in Grattan Wood in Donaghmede, and is being treated in hospital. Gardaí are now waiting for him to recover in sufficiently well to be interviewed.”
RTÉ reporter, Paul Reynolds, said that more than half of the 900 unaccompanied minors who arrived in Ireland last year came from Ukraine and were seeking to avoid being conscripted when they turned 18 and sent to the front in the war with Russia. He said that it was “doubly tragic” that a young man had fled to Ireland to avoid being “killed in a war at home” only to be killed in this country.
It is understood that a female care worker has also been left traumatised after attempting to intervene during the attack, and that the suspect had to be pepper-sprayed in order to accommodate the arrest. Gardaí say that they are not looking for anyone else in relation to the killing.
The fatal stabbing has been described as a “frenzied attack”, with residents of the private apartment block expressing shock at the news and the sight of injuries after the disturbing incident.
“I came home to chaos,” a woman living in the Grattan Wood apartment complex told the Irish Times.
“There was people running around everywhere, some of them covered in blood. The guards were asking them if they were injured. The first thing I saw was the Emergency Response Unit running into the apartments and then chaos.”
“One of the women, she looked like a care worker, had blood on her hand and she didn’t realise she was stabbed until she washed her hands.
In a statement, the Embassy of Ukraine to Ireland said that it was making the necessary arrangements for the repatriation of the 17-year-old Davydenko’s body to Ukraine.
The embassy said it was in close contact with An Garda Síochána, who are investigating the circumstances of the incident.
“We are also in regular contact with Vadym’s family. The results of the investigation will be shared with both the family and the embassy once available.”
“We express our deepest condolences to Vadym’s family and loved ones during this time of profound grief.”
“At this time, the embassy will not be making further public comments. However, we remain in close cooperation with the Irish authorities and the family.”
Yesterday, Tusla said that they could “confirm that a serious incident took place at one of our emergency residential units in North Dublin, which provides care on a 24-hour basis to four separated young people seeking international protection.
“The incident involved two young people, during which a fatal injury was sustained.
“An Garda Síochana is now conducting a full investigation and we are cooperating fully with their enquiries.
“Our immediate priority is the safety and wellbeing of the other young people and staff at this unit.
“We are providing additional support to everyone directly affected and making efforts to contact the families of the young people who were residing there.
A Garda spokesman reiterated the incident was “no longer active and there is no ongoing threat to the community”.
He added: “An Garda Síochana is not looking for any other person in relation to this incident at this time and is following a definite line of enquiry.”