Surgeons fight to save boy’s fingers

Surgeons are continuing their efforts to save some of the fingers of a five-year-old boy who had part of his hands blown off in a horror pipebomb attack outside his home in Wicklow.

PJ Duffy lost four digits on one hand and three on the other when he picked up an object left outside the front door of his home on Sycamore Drive in Newtownmountkennedy on the morning of June 20.

He also suffered injuries to his head and face, but it is thought he was partially protected by a cycling helmet he was wearing at the time.

The pipebomb exploded in his hands as his mother was inside the house with her two other children.

Gardaí have not yet established the motive behind the attack. It is still not clear whether or not someone who had access to the house was the target of the pipebomb, or if the house was the wrong target.

Garda sources say the investigation is “progressing well” and they are actively pursuing a number of lines of inquiry.

However, they said they were “not near” reaching any conclusion. “We have serious investigations to do yet,” said the source.

He said they did not know for sure why the attack was carried out.

“We do not have enough firm evidence to know precisely whether it’s a case of mistaken identity or if it was targeted.”

He said they were getting assistance from the public but appealed to anyone on the margins of the attack, or who might know anything about it, to come forward.

* Anyone with information can contact Bray Garda Station on 01 6665300.