The family of a man who is “clinging to life” in hospital after a violent attack at his home in Co Donegal has criticised An Garda Síochána for not deeming the incident as an attempted murder.
Charles Dooher (26) was airlifted to the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, where he remains in a critical condition after being “brutally attacked” at his home in Lifford on the morning of January 20th.
“If he survives, he will have sustained catastrophic, life-changing injuries,” his family said, adding that he is “clinging to life”.
In a statement issued through Madden and Finucane Solicitors on Friday, they claimed the violent incident was a result of a Garda failure to police members of another family who, they claim, have “persecuted the Dooher family and maintained a vendetta for more than decade”.
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A spokeswoman for the family said they believe a criminal gang from Northern Ireland, “who at times masquerade as members of dissident republican micro groups”, was engaged and brought in to carry out an armed robbery.
Family members were cable-tied by the masked and “forensically aware” men, who were armed with long metal bars, a large hammer, a wheel brace, a chainsaw and burglary tools, the spokeswoman said.
Mr Dooher’s father was also assaulted, requiring hospital treatment.
The spokeswoman added that an attempt was made to “murder young Charles in his own home”, having received “three massive and obvious blows to the head with a heavy metal weapon” resulting in Mr Dooher losing a portion of his skull.
“Within hours of the brutal attack on our family, the PSNI deemed the case to be one of attempted murder, a home invasion type armed robbery, and an aggravated burglary,” they said, claiming that gardaí, meanwhile, “classified, logged and minimised” the case as an aggravated burglary and serious assault.
“Even to this day, AGS [An Garda Síochána] have yet to state publicly to the local community that what occurred in their midst was a brutal, and clear-cut case of attempted murder,” the statement reads.
“The Dooher family want a line drawn under the failures of gardaí to properly classify, police, and investigate Charles’ attempted murder and the attacks on the Dooher family historically,” the spokeswoman said.
She added that following a meeting with senior gardaí and PSNI officers in Belfast on Thursday, the family is now prepared to “cautiously re-engage with gardaí, and to reinvest our trust in the Garda investigation team.”
The family urged those with any information to come forward to the authorities, the family or their solicitors “so that we can get justice for Charles”.
A spokeswoman for PSNI advised to address queries to An Garda Síochána which is leading the investigation.
“An Garda Síochána does not comment on the detail of its interactions with families. An Garda Síochána will continue to liaise with the family,” a Garda spokeswoman said.
