An Irish university student is in a critical condition in a Chicago hospital today after sustaining head injuries in an attack yesterday.
Natasha McShane (23), a postgraduate student from UCD who was studying at the University of Illinois in Chicago, was with a female friend, Stacy Jurich (24), when they were attacked while on the way back to the friend's house in the Bucktown area of the city.
According to a report in the Chicago Sun Times newspaper, the women were attacked by a man with an aluminium baseball bat.
The attacker is said to have struck the women several times with the bat, before stealing their purses and running away.
Ms Jurich is understood to be in a stable condition in hospital while Ms McShane remains in a critical condition in intensive care.
Ms McShane’s parents are travelling to Chicago to be by their daughter's side.
She is a student at University College Dublin but had been studying at the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois, according to a spokesman for the school.
The Department for Foreign Affairs confirmed today it was providing assistance to the family through its consulate in Chicago.