A Dublin teenager has pleaded not guilty to two stabbings during a confrontation with a group of teenagers, maintaining he acted in “self-defence”, reports Breaking News.
A 17-year-old boy has been charged with aggravated assault and producing a knife during an incident on Dublin’s south side in December 2020.
The teen, who cannot be identified because he is a minor, appeared before Dublin Children’s Court on Wednesday.
The Director of Public Prosecutions recommended that the case be referred to a higher level. However, Judge Paul Kelly agreed to remain in the Children’s Court after viewing the video and hearing an outline of the prosecution’s evidence.
Garda Stephen Beirne told the court that gardaà received a call about several young people fighting with knives, reports Breaking News.
The teen’s family initially reported that he was attacked by a group of men as he was walking home from school.
However, when the officer went to the teenager’s home, he found everyone there was “very confrontational” and no one wanted to give a statement.
The defendant then went for treatment and gardaà went to the hospital to speak to two other young people “who turned up with stab wounds”.
Despite informing the police, they refused to lodge a formal complaint and were stabbed by the accused.
The court assumed that the incident resulted from a fight between two groups after an earlier incident, reports Breaking News.
Defence lawyer Doireann McDonagh said her client, who was 15 at the time, claimed he was terrified and acted in self-defence after he was “surrounded” by a group of eight to 10 older youths.
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