An investigation is underway into an attack on a teenager in Co. Meath on Monday which was filmed and posted on social media.
In a statement, An Garda Síochána said a young man was treated for serious facial injuries at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, reports RTE.
The attack on the teenager happened around 2.30pm on Monday evening in the Navan area.
Gardaí are urging anyone with information to contact Navan Garda Station.
The Garda Síochána said it “is aware of a video circulating on social media of this incident and out of respect for the victim in this case we would request that people refrain from sharing this video”, reports RTE.
Footage appears to show the teenager being punched and kicked by several other youths, some of whom were wearing school uniform.
The video was retweeted several times on Twitter and shared on Facebook to a much lesser extent.
Twitter has not responded to inquiries about its policies and procedures related to sharing this type of content.
Meta, Facebook’s parent company, said it does not allow bullying or violence on its platforms.
In a statement a spokesperson for Meta said: “This content breaks our policies and we will remove it if posted on our platforms. We would urge people to report this video if they see it on Facebook or Instagram and not to repost the video, even if condemning it,” reports RTE.
Leo Varadkar stated that the victim was humiliated and assaulted physically.
He added that he wanted to “send out his solidarity to the young person who was harmed and injured”, reports RTE.
Wake up ⏰ Ireland is full 🇮🇪#IrelandisFull
Migrant offspring beat defenceless Irish student for being different to them. These thugs are tomorrow’s future 👀Perhaps all the decent, concerned Irish citizens who protest unvetted migrants being planted in their area are… pic.twitter.com/nNMfio8RV5
— TheLiberal.ie (@TheLiberal_ie) May 17, 2023
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