Gardaí hunt armed gang who stabbed and beat man in home

Gardaí are hunting for a gang of armed and masked men who smashed their way into a house and viciously beat and stabbed a man in front of his terrified partner and young child.

Forensic experts conducted a detailed examination of the house in Tower, near Blarney, on the outskirts of Cork City, following the brutal attack.

The 24-year-old victim suffered a broken arm and several stab wounds to his body and head and was still being treated in Cork University Hospital yesterday.

His injuries were described as serious but not life-threatening.

He was attacked around 11.30pm on Tuesday, when a gang of up to five masked men, all wearing balaclavas and armed with knives and lump hammers, burst into a house in the Willison Meadow area of Tower.

Their target, along with his partner and a four-year-old child, had been watching TV inside when a paving stone was thrown through a rear door.

The gang forced their way in through the broken door and subjected the man to a vicious and sustained beating as his terrified family looked on in horror.

They were physically uninjured but were said to have been deeply shocked by the ordeal.

The attack lasted several minutes before the gang fled.

Gardaí from Blarney and Gurranabraher rushed to the scene but the gang had escaped.

The assault victim was rushed to CUH.

Detectives believe the attack may be in linked to another assault at a house in Tower earlier this week.

In that incident, a young man was attacked and injured at a house in Dromin Drive between 11.30am and 12pm on Monday.

Inspector Gary McPolin appealed for anyone who saw any suspicious activity in the Willison Meadows area between 11pm and midnight on Tuesday, or for anyone with information in relation to the incidents, to come forward.

Blarney Garda Station can be contacted on 021 4516 291. Gurranabraher Garda Station: 021 4946 200.