The victim had been out celebrating finishing the Leaving Cert and had exited a taxi at his friend's house to walk the rest of the way home. In the Sandford Wood area he was set upon by two hooded teens who punched him in the head before stealing his mobile phone.
Speaking to a local community group, the victim's mother said that Gardaí have been advised and have met the family for descriptions of her son's attackers. She warned parents that "this is the second attack in recent weeks in that area at 1am at night, so please make sure your kids aren't walking home alone. Stay safe and report anything suspicious to the Gardai in Swords."
The Swords area has been the site of anti-social behaviour involving gangs of teenagers in recent weeks. Over the May bank holiday weekend Swords Manor FC had their clubhouse and pitch trashed. Writing on social media, the club said "It’s getting a joke now, the amount of gangs that are taking up residence on our pitches and leaving behind a trail of destruction. And having been out walking around last night looks like the majority of the people are not even from the area. We need action urgently to stop this type of behaviour from Fingal County Council and An Garda Síochána."
