Man held after fatal stabbing on ‘be safe in city’ night
A man was fatally stabbed in Waterford just hours into a “purple flag weekend” aimed at promoting the city as a safe and vibrant place to socialise.
The 28-year-old victim, named locally as James Banville, understood to be from Raheen, Clonroche, in Co Wexford, was pronounced dead in hospital after emergency services found him on a city centre street just after 3.20am yesterday morning.
A member of the public had alerted gardai to an “altercation” which took place on New Street between the victim and another man. On arrival at the scene, officers found that the 28-year-old had been stabbed. It’s believed he was socialising in Waterford on Friday night.
He was taken by ambulance to University Hospital Waterford but pronounced dead.
A 35-year-old man, who is understood to be a non-Irish national who lives in Waterford, was arrested near the scene of the crime and was last night being held for questioning by gardai at Waterford Garda Station.
The row happened around the corner from John Street, which leads to the main thoroughfare in Waterford’s city centre.
The location is a few hundred metres from O’Connell Street where a man in his 40s was injured when he was stabbed during an incident at about 6.45pm on Thursday. A man in his 20s was arrested.
Last month a Carlow teenager was seriously injured in a stabbing, also in the John Street area.