Mob ‘hurled insults’ before fatal assault
THUGS ‘TOLD US TO SPEAK ENGLISH IN IRELAND’
A PAL of a Croatian man beaten to death by a gang of thugs while he himself was badly injured has opened up about the horror night — saying they were targeted because they “weren’t speaking English”.
David Druzinec (28), from Krapina, and his close friend Josip Strok (31) were set upon by a gang of four assailants in the Grange View Way area in Clondalkin, Dublin shortly after 10pm on Saturday, March 30.
Josip was fatally injured in the savage attack and died four days later on April 3 while David was left unconscious and suffered horrific facial injuries.
Now David has opened up about the horror attack on him and his pal Josip whom he said was like his brother.
He said he didn’t witness the attack on his friend because he lost consciousness following the severe beating he suffered.
On the night, the pals met up to spend Easter together and had food and bought a couple of beers in an offlicence before heading back to David’s apartment in Clondalkin.
David said when they left the off-licence they were both talking in Croatian.
He told the Telegram newspaper in Croatia that a gang started “throwing insults and shouted at us ‘You speak English, you are in Ireland, you are not at home, you have no respect for our country. This is Ireland...’ and things like that.”
Bus
Then David said he told Josip to get out of the way, “because he knows how things work in Dublin”.
They then boarded a bus and headed towards David’s apartment in Clondalkin.
But they were unaware that someone was following them in a car.
While they were walking towards the apartment 15 minutes away, the thugs who were throwing things at them in front of the store attacked them from behind. David said the attack was unexpected, because they neither saw nor heard it. “They hit me first with something, I don’t know if it was a bar or a bat, I asked the police the details they saw on the video, which they allegedly have,” he said.
“Basically, I fell when they started on Josip. After some time, I managed to get up and wanted to help him, but they started beating me again, even harder.”
David said that’s all he remembers, adding: “I know that when I woke up in the hospital, they were sewing my head.”
Gardai continue to investigate the fatal attack on Josip and the vicious assault on David. So far, officers have not yet made any arrests.