Gardaí launch hunt for mugger with syringe

GARDAÍ are hunting for a man who threatened to stab another man with a syringe in an attempted robbery.

The attacker approached the 19-year-old victim close to a pub on Cork’s Western Road early on Thursday morning. He told the man he had a syringe in his pocket and would jab him if he didn’t cooperate.

He demanded cash and took a mobile phone before forcing the victim to walk almost two miles to an ATM on North Main Street.

However, the victim escaped unhurt just before they reached the machine.

Detectives said they are anxious to trace the attacker. They were examining CCTV footage from cameras on the route yesterday.

The man was described as 5ft 8in in height and was wearing a black hat and a black tracksuit. He had a local accent.

“We are following a definite line of enquiry and are hopeful of tracking him down,” a garda spokesman said.

He appealed for anyone who saw the two men walking along the Western Road to contact the Bridewell garda station on 021-4270681.

The attack happened the day after a heroin addict was jailed for seven months by Judge David Riordan for trying to rob a city shop armed with a syringe last March.

The shopkeeper managed to overpower the raider and break the needle off the ground, forcing the culprit to run.