GARDAÍ ARE investigating an incident in which a boy (16) was allegedly bundled into a car, assaulted and held for several hours before escaping from his captors.
The boy and his friends became involved in a row with another group of youths over damage to a car at Beaverstown Road in Donabate at 5.30am yesterday.
The victim was forced into the boot of a silver Volkswagen Passat, which drove off in the direction of Donabate village. The boy’s family were reportedly contacted and a ransom was demanded. It is understood no money was handed over.
The youth escaped from the car in Clondalkin at about 9am and made his way to the M50. He used an emergency phone on the side of the motorway to contact gardaí.
He was taken to Beaumont hospital where he was treated for head injuries before being released several hours later.
“This is not a typical abduction,” said a Garda source. “It appears to have been spontaneous rather than premeditated. It seems there was damage allegedly done to one of the group’s car and there was a row about who would pay for it,” he added.
It is understood some members of the two groups of young people in the incident were drinking.
Gardaí later arrested a 19-year-old man in the Clondalkin area and recovered the car believed to have been used in the incident. The man is being questioned by gardaí at Swords Garda station under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.
Local Labour councillor Gerry McGuire, who lives in Donabate, said the violent incident was not typical of the town.
“Donabate is normally very quiet and this is totally out of character for the whole area. I’ve spoken to a number of people and the gardaí don’t think there was a sinister motive behind this,” he said.
“Obviously the community are alarmed at this incident. The village has grown very rapidly and it may be that this group came in from outside. But there are calls from people living in Donabate for a permanent Garda presence in the town such as a Garda station,” he said.
In a statement last night, the gardaí said they had recovered the silver Volkswagen Passat used in the incident and were continuing to question the man at Swords Garda station.
Under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, the man can be questioned for at least 24 hours by gardaí.