The fatal stabbing of a Ukrainian teenager in a Tusla residential premises in Donaghmede this morning (Wednesday) has been described as a “frenzied attack”, and Gardaí are believed to have a chief suspect in the incident who is another resident in the facility and is also a foreign national.
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 in Grattan Wood in the north Dublin suburb, according to Dublin Live.
“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.
Other neighbours expressed shock and fear at the suspected murder, and told reporters they were unsure how to explain the obvious commotion and garda presence to their children.
Gardaí have now confirmed that all the resources of a homicide inquiry have been committed to the case.
In a statement, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, confirmed the residential unit in north Dublin provides 24-hour care to those seeking international protection.
“Our immediate priority is the safety and wellbeing of the other young people and staff at this unit. We are providing additional supports to everyone directly affected and making efforts to contact the families of the young people who were residing there,” it said.
“In order to protect the privacy of the young people involved, and given the ongoing Garda investigation, we are not in a position to provide further detail,” the agency added.
An Garda Síochána said in a statement: “Shortly after 11am gardaí and other emergency services responded to a call for assistance at the residential premises.
“On arrival a seriously injured male juvenile teenager was discovered at the scene.
“Despite the assistance of paramedics the male has subsequently been pronounced deceased at the scene.
“Gardaí and emergency services assisted a number of other juveniles and adults at the scene.”