GARDAÍ ARE questioning a man about an attack early in Dublin yesterday morning in which a homeowner was stabbed in his own house and required more than 60 stitches after rescuing his wife from attack.
The victims’ neighbours went to their aid and managed to hold the attacker at the scene until gardaí arrived and arrested him.
The incident occurred in the residential area of Foxford, off Ballyowen Lane, Lucan, Co Dublin, at 7.40am.
A 20-year-old man gained access to a house in an apparent attempt to carry out a robbery.
The occupants, Mick and Elaine Wisdom, were at home with their two daughters Ellie (6) and Katie (8).
Ms Wisdom had opened the back door of her home and set off the house alarm in the process. When she went to the hallway of the house to turn off the alarm she noticed a man standing on her doorstep.
Ms Wisdom’s brother, Shane Carroll, said his sister thought the person on the doorstep was the postman or milkman and she opened the door.
The man on the doorstep tried to push past her into the house.
Mr Carroll said his sister began screaming and then Mr Wisdom came running downstairs to help his wife.
“Elaine ran back up the stairs to make sure the two girls were okay. But the guy trying to break in managed to get into the house.
He had a Stanley blade and he slashed and stabbed Mick in the chest, hand and arms.”
Mr Carroll said a number of people living nearby were leaving their houses for work and when they heard Ms Wisdom screaming that a man was attacking her husband, they ran to the Wisdoms’ house.
Said Mr Carroll: “By that stage Mick had the guy pretty much held down. But one of the neighbours helped him hold the fella down and then another neighbour rang the guards.”
One of the men who assisted was neighbour Gheorgie Manci, a 33-year-old Romanian man living nearby.
Mr Carroll said that after the gardaí arrived and arrested the attacker, Mr Wisdom, a 45-year-old electrical contractor, passed out from pain and loss of blood.
He was taken to Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown, and was expected to be transferred to Beaumont Hospital last night for further examination.
Mr Wisdom received 60 stitches on the gashes and stab wounds to his arms and hand.
“They don’t know if the damage to his hand will be long term so obviously that might affect his work, we’ll just have to wait and see,” said Mr Carroll.
He added his sister and two nieces had been left shocked by the early morning stabbing attack in their own home.
Garda sources confirmed the incident took place.
They are treating the attack as a botched robbery.
A 20-year-old man, believed to be a drug user, was taken to Lucan Garda station for questioning following the incident.
The man is due to appear before the courts this morning.
