Gardaí hunt gang who attacked pregnant woman in Cork

Gardaí are hunting for a teenage gang who punched a pregnant woman in the face in an unprovoked attack in Cork.

Detectives were examining CCTV footage in a bid to track down up to four culprits, believed to be aged between 15 and 17, one of whom attacked the six-months pregnant 25-year-old mother of one on Princes St as she walked home from work at around 7.30pm on Sunday.

Sintija, originally from Latvia, suffered bruises to one of her eyes and left badly shaken by the incident.

“As I was walking up the street a teen came over and punched me in the face. I was very shocked,” she told The Opinion Line on Cork’s 96fm yesterday.

She said her only concern was for the safety of her unborn child, and that she was lucky that the attack didn’t knock her to the ground.

Derek Collins, who witnessed the alleged assault, contacted gardaí and followed the teen gang as they fled towards Paul St. However, he said he was told by gardaí here was no garda available to respond to the incident.

“It was 7pm on a Sunday evening. There’s a Christmas festival on in town, and there’s not one guard in Cork city that can help a pregnant woman who’s been attacked,” he said. “They probably don’t have the resources. The next time a politician knocks on your door for an election, ask them about it.”

Sintija’s husband, Zuhair, paid tribute to Mr Collins for standing up for his wife, and to the people who expressed outrage at the attack.

Gardaí have appealed for witnesses to contact them at Anglesea St garda station.

The assault comes just days after the city centre was awarded a Purple Flag for its safe night-time economy.

The incident and city centre policing resources are set to be discussed at a meeting of the joint policing committee on Monday.