Woman critical after brutal cordless drill attack in ‘homophobic’ assault

A WOMAN suffered an ‘extremely grave’ head injury after she was brutally assaulted with a cordless drill in a suspected homophobic attack yesterday.

The incident occurred in the Railway Street area of Strabane in Co. Tyrone at around 2am.

The 38-year-old woman was taken to hospital and police have described her condition as critical but stable.

A 17-year-old youth who was detained nearby remained in custody last night.

‘This was a brutal attack and the injuries sustained by the victim are extremely grave,’ said Detective Sergeant Brian Reid. ‘We are exploring a possible homophobic motive for the crime, and we are appealing for witnesses to get in touch with us.

‘We would like to hear from anyone who may have seen a male carrying a drill in the area at around the time of the assault, and we would especially like to speak to anyone who may have captured footage, either on mobile phone or dash cam.’ The victim’s friend Corey French said he had been having a drink with her in a nightclub some hours previously and was shocked to hear the news.

‘We are all very upset. She is a very lovely gentle person, so caring, with a heart of gold,’ he added.

Video footage of a council worker cleaning blood off the road after the attack has been circulated on social media.

Assembly member (MLA) Daniel McCrossan said he was ‘absolutely horrified by this assault’, which he described as ‘monstrous’. ‘This kind of sickening behaviour has no place in society,’ added the SDLP representative.

‘I would ask the community to give the PSNI the space they need to carry out their investigation swiftly and thoroughly.

‘I would also appeal to anyone who may have information about this assault to contact Crimestoppers immediately. My thoughts are with the victim and her family.’

Sinn Féin Assemblywoman Michaela Boyle said people were shocked at the ‘horrific’ nature of the attack.