Pair questioned over stabbing incident during burglary in Cork

A man and a woman were still being questioned by gardaí in Cork last night after a man was stabbed in the face during an aggravated burglary at his home on the outskirts of the city.

The victim, aged in his 60s, received what gardaí described as “puncture wounds” after he confronted a man had allegedly entered his house in the Paud’s Cross area just outside Blarney, at around 9pm on Monday.

It is understood the home owner managed to force the raider out of his house, but that a struggle ensued outside the property, during which a sharp implement was produced and the home owner was injured.

The suspect fled the scene.

The man’s wife raised the alarm and he was taken to Cork University Hospital for treatment and was discharged yesterday.

Gardaí were on the scene quickly and, following an extensive search, they arrested a man in his early 30s and a woman in her mid-20s in the Tower area, a short distance away, at around 10pm.

The man was taken to Gurranabraher Garda Station and the woman to Mayfield station, where they were both still being detained last night under the provisions of section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act. They can he held for up to 24 hours before they have to be released or charged.

The house and grounds nearby were preserved for a technical examination, and it is understood a knife, which was recovered later, will be subject to detailed forensic analysis.

Gardaí were also canvassing for CCTV footage in the area.

They appealed for anyone who saw anything suspicious in the Paud’s Cross area on Monday night to contact Gurranabraher Garda Station at 021 4946207.

The attack comes as the latest provisional figures provided by An Garda Síochána show burglary rates are continuing to fall significantly.

Residential burglary is down 35% to 10,853 incidents while non-residential burglary is down 26% to 3,951 incidents in comparison to the equivalent period last year.