A Nigerian asylum seeker was stabbed to death in a ‘barbaric’ attack just off Dublin’s main shopping street, as concerns over knife violence in the Irish capital spread.
Quham Babatunde, 34, a Nigerian national, had reportedly been attending an Afroswing gig at a nightclub in the Irish capital the evening of the knifing.
He was treated by emergency services at the scene on South Anne Street in the early hours of Saturday morning for what the Irish Independent described as ‘a number of stab wounds, including one to the heart’.
Mr Babatunde was rushed to St James’s Hospital where medics battled to save his life but he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
A second man who was injured in the fracas was treated at the same hospital for non-life-threatening injuries – believed to be a fractured cheekbone.
A murder investigation is now underway and two men have now been arrested and are being questioned by police.
Mr Babatunde had been living in the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centre in Ballyogan, south Dublin, RTE, the Irish national broadcaster, reported.
Video footage being circulated on social media shows a masked man brandishing a large knife and people fighting on South Anne Street, just off Grafton Street – one of Europe’s busiest shopping streets.
The footage shows a man being surrounded by a gang who are kicking him. The man with a knife appears to then stab the victim, who clutches his chest.
A separate video of the aftermath of the incident shows an unmoving man lying on the floor being treated by parademics.
The suspects fled the scene before the emergency services arrived.
The scene of the stabbing is a popular location for locals and tourists, with several bars and restaurants in the area.
As the video makes clear, the street was still busy with pedestrians at the point when the incident occurred.
Gardaí believe both men had attended an Afroswing gig in a club on the street before the stabbings took place and are investigating if they knew each other.
The scene of the fatal attack was sealed off after the attack to allow for a technical examination by forensic investigators.
Officers are also believed to be combing through CCTV and making door-to-door enquiries.
Senior officers are probing whether two groups clashed following the gig in the Twenty Two Dublin club when they were called to respond to what they called a ‘serious public order’ incident.
Yesterday, in a message to residents of the Ballyogan IPAS centre, management said Mr Babatunde was amongst the first IPAS residents who were accommodated there.
The statement said: ‘In light of this sad event, anyone who has been affected, IPAS has put in place support for both residents and staff to be able to get through this difficult time.
‘Our sincere condolences go out to his friends and family and anyone who knew him in Ballyogan.’
Former asylum seeker and activist Lucky Khambule told the Irish Mirror that residents of the Ballyogan centre were in shock over the death.
He said that friends of Mr Babatunde described him as a ‘happy’ person with a permanent smile on his face.
‘He was a people’s person. Always jovial and laughing. He was the kind of a person from what I can see that was a peaceful person who was minding his own business,’ he said.
‘It has shook the centre very hard. It’s a sad situation and my condolences go to his family.’
Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan branded the violence ‘disgusting and unacceptable’ and warned that the perpetrators involved would be tracked down and brought to justice.
Speaking on RTÉ’s This Week radio show the Minister said he has been receiving updates from investigating gardaí who have what he called ‘excellent CCTV footage’.
‘There were people in a nightclub, a row developed out onto the street and that’s where the fatality and violence occurred,’ he said.
‘I want the people who were involved with the violence to know that it is unacceptable in this city and country and that they will be brought to justice.
‘A man suffered catastrophic consequences, it is shocking footage, and the people involved need to know that the gardaí are making very good progress in identifying them.
‘I want to put out the message that carrying knives and acts of violence on the streets are not acceptable in Ireland nor will they ever be acceptable.
Mr O’Callaghan said that his predecessor, Helen McEntee, increased the sentence for carrying blades and that ‘we are not going to allow ourselves to develop into a society where young men are carrying knives.’
He added: ‘I have said previously that there are parts of Dublin which are unsafe at certain times of the day and certainly that was the case of South Anne Street in the early hours of Saturday morning.’
Minister O’Callaghan also called for facial recognition technology in the city centre to help identify criminals.
‘We need to have facial recognition technology. Gardaí will have to track down the individuals involved in the incident using CCTV,’ he said.
‘Facial recognition technology would be of great assistance to gardaí and speed up [this] investigation,’ he said.
‘I do know that there were gardaí in the Grafton Street area on patrol at that time (of the incident)… I don’t think that anyone could have expected violence at that time in the morning but we need greater garda visibility throughout the day and throughout the night. There is no dispute among members of the Oireachtas we need to see more gardaí but that involves the campaign to recruit more.
Tánaiste Simon Harris has described Mr Babatunde’s death as ‘alarming, shocking and deeply concerning’.
Speaking in Munich, the Tánaiste said the Minister for Justice was making efforts to keep the streets safe, adding: ‘We have seen the loss of life of one person and another seriously injured, so need to let this investigation proceed.’
A woman posted a Snapchat tribute to Mr Babatunde after his death, referring to him as her ‘big bro’
THE IRISH DAILY MAIL
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