Stabbing may have followed fight

Gardaí believe two men were stabbed, one of them fatally, in the early hours of yesterday morning after they had become involved in an earlier fight with two teenagers aged 16 and 19 years.

The dead man is a 22-year-old media studies student from Germany. He was stabbed in the abdomen and suffered a severed artery in the attack outside the apartment where he was living in Dublin’s south inner city.

The second victim, who was a friend of the dead man and is also German, was also stabbed and while he is seriously ill he is in a stable condition in hospital and is expected to survive.

He suffered a number of slash and stab wounds, mostly to his hands, none of which are life threatening.

The double stabbing occurred outside the Herberton apartments, St Anthony’s Rd, Rialto, at around 5.30am yesterday morning.

Gardaí believe the two men who were stabbed were at a social gathering in a first floor apartment. They were on the balcony with a number of other people when two local teenagers walked passed on the street below.

Detectives believe words were exchanged between the teenagers and the men on the balcony. At that point at least two men from the party in the apartment made their way downstairs and become involved in an altercation on the street with the teenagers.

Gardaí are trying to establish if a fight broke out, with some witnesses suggesting the row became physical at that point.

After a period the clash broke up and the local teenagers left the scene as the men they were arguing with went back to the party.

However, some time later the teenagers came back and when confronted on the street again by people from the party the teenagers produced knives and the two German men were stabbed.

The 22-year-old man who died lost a very significant amount of blood at the scene. He was taken by ambulance to St James’ Hospital, where he underwent surgery.

While he survived for a number of hours his blood loss proved fatal and he was pronounced dead at around 9am.

His friend, also aged 22 years, is still undergoing treatment in the hospital.

Gardaí yesterday arrested two teenagers, aged 16 year and 19 years. They both had addresses in the Dublin 8 area and are suspects in the case. Gardaí today arrested a woman in her 40s in relation to the stabbing. The arrest took place at about 1pm and the woman is being held at Pearse Street Garda station.

The scene of the attack was sealed off immediately gardai arrived there in the early hours of yesterday morning. It has undergone an examination by the members of the Garda Technical Bureau.

Local gardai from Kilmainham garda station have also been carrying out door-to-door inquiries in the area. They have spoken to some of the people who were at the party in the apartment and also other people who witnessed yesterday morning’s events.

Anyone with information is asked to contact gardai in Kilmainham on (01) 6669700.