Gardaí in Cork are investigating a stabbing incident which left a couple believed to be in their 70s in a critical condition in hospital.
The incident happened in the Shrewsbury Downs estate off the Ballinlough Road on the city’s southside at around 9.30pm when a man in his 30s is believed to have attacked the couple outside their home.
A number of neighbours saw the incident and rang the emergency services. Officers from the Armed Support Unit (ASU) from Anglesea Street Garda station were among the first to arrive on the scene.
Members of the ASU disarmed the suspect – who was known to the couple – and quickly began performing CPR on the injured man.
Map: Glen Murphy
Paramedics arrived soon afterwards and the couple were rushed by ambulance to Cork University Hospital where it is understood they were in a critical condition.
Meanwhile, gardaí arrested the suspect and conveyed him to the Bridewell Garda station.
The man is being held under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act which allows gardaí detain suspects before they must be charged or released.
It is understood he was due to be examined last night by a doctor to assess whether he was fit to be interviewed about the incident.
The couple are well known business people on Leeside where they have a business in the Oliver Plunkett St area of the city.
Gardaí have begun door-to-door inquiries and harvesting CCTV footage from houses in the quiet estate in a bid to try to establish the sequence of events leading to the assault.
