Teen held after boy (14) savagely beaten

A 14-YEAR-OLD boy left in a critical condition after being severely beaten had been attacked before.

The teenager suffered serious head injuries in the incident which happened in Tipperary town about 10.50pm on Thursday. Emergency services attended the scene and the boy was taken to South Tipperary General Hospital in Clonmel for treatment. His family have been keeping a vigil by his bedside.

Gardaí arrested a teenager on Thursday night in relation to the assault and he was being questioned under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act at Tipperary Town Garda station.

The incident occurred in the Lakeland area of Tipperary, within metres of St Ailbe’s Secondary School where the victim is a pupil. It’s understood he was out walking when he was set on and badly beaten.

Some people in a nearby housing estate were alerted and found the 14-year-old unconscious on the side of the road.

There were reports yesterday that the teenager had been previously assaulted in recent months. Gardaí said this was not reported at the time and only came to light in the after- math of Thursday night’s attack.

“All incidents are being investigated concerning both parties,” a garda involved in the investigation said.

One friend said: “He’s a lovely kid, he wouldn’t have done anything bad. He’d never start a fight. He’s lovely, just a quiet fella. If you hit him, he’d be trying to sort it out.”

Two young men walking near the scene said the young victim was “an innocent man” who “wouldn’t hurt a fly” and didn’t deserve what happened. “It’s terrible,” one of them said.

The scene of the assault was sealed off by gardaí throughout yesterday, with a blue tarpaulin covering the section of the footpath in Lakeland where the victim was found injured. A forensic examination was carried out at the scene by members of the Garda Technical Bureau.

Local gardaí carried out door-to-door inquiries throughout the day and also spoke to people walking in the area, which is close to schools and St Michael’s Football Club.

Gardaí have appealed for anyone who was in the Lakelands/ Roseanna Road area between 10pm and 11pm on Thursday and who might have witnessed anything suspicious to contact them on 062-51212.