Man tasered by armed gardaí after iron bar attack in Cork city

Armed gardaí tasered and arrested a man after an incident which has left another man fighting for his life after he was struck on the head with an iron bar.

The 25-year-old Croatian victim suffered severe head injuries after he was attacked by a man wielding an iron bar during a row in a rented house on the northside of Cork City in the early hours yesterday. He remained in a critical but stable condition in Cork University Hospital (CUH) last night.

The 21-year-old suspect, originally from Nigeria, was still being questioned in Gurranabraher Garda station last night. Gardaí were called at around 1.30am yesterday to a row at a rented house on Blarney Street.

They found the Croatian man who had sustained serious head injuries. He was rushed by ambulance to CUH where he was placed in an induced coma.

A Nigerian man was found on the street nearby wielding an iron bar. Eyewitnesses said he was behaving aggressively and when he failed to comply with garda instructions to surrender, he was subdued when members of the armed Regional Support Unit deployed tasers to bring the suspect under control. He was arrested and detained under the provisions of section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act and was taken to Gurranabraher Garda station for questioning, where he can be held for up to 24-hours.

Gardaí have appealed for witnesses, or anyone with information, to contact them at 021-4946200.