Knife attack horror

A FILIPINO woman living on the Northside had a lucky escape after a thug attempted to stab her in the arm and chest in a vicious mugging.

Jeanie Sanches, from Swords, narrowly avoided serious injury but has been left traumatised by the attack, which occurred while she was waiting for a bus home from work on the Malahide Road at Coolock after 6pm on February 11.

The terrified woman, who has lived and worked in Ireland for over 10 years, was standing alone when a hooded male approached her wielding a knife.

“He stuck the knife into my side and said:

‘give me your bag or you’re dead’,

? Jeanie told Northside People.

“I said no out of instinct and because I was thinking of all I had in the bag but then he pointed the knife into my side even closer.

“We struggled when I still wouldn’t give him my bag which is when he started to slash my arm.

“He cut into my arm six times but thankfully I was wearing enough thick layers that the knife didn’t pierce my skin.

“Then he stabbed me in the chest with the knife but again I was wearing a big thick scarf tucked into my coat which protected me.

“Were it not for my winter clothes I could be dead now.

?

The vicious attacker cut the bag from Jeanie’s shoulder and ran off.

But the fearless woman, who works nearby, ran after her attacker.

“I think I just panicked and didn’t know what else to do.

?

Realising he was being chased, the culprit threw the knife at Jeanie, who again escaped unscathed.

The attacker made off in the direction of the N32 leaving Jeanie breathless, shocked and traumatised.

“I remember I went into the middle of the road and started shouting for someone to help me,

? she recalled.

“Not one person pulled over to see if I was okay or if I needed help. They just drove around me.

?

Jeanie then ran to Clare Hall Shopping Centre where security staff called the gardai on her behalf.

“It really hit me then what had happened and I began shaking,

? she said.

“I’ve always felt safe in Ireland but now I’m so scared and traumatised.

“I won’t stand at that bus stop anymore so instead every day I get the bus into the city centre and get another bus to Swords or to work which adds more than an hour on to my journey.

“Maybe when my confidence builds up again I might be able to get the bus straight to work.

?

Jeanie has no faith in the Irish justice system, which she believes does little to discourage people from committing vicious crimes such as the one she fell victim to.

“I don’t understand the law here in Ireland,

? she explained.

“It’s almost as if the bad people are spoiled and looked after better than those who don’t break the law.

?

Jeanie’s partner Noel Molloy has been furious since the attack but has focused his anger on the many motorists who drove by Jeanie without helping.

“It’s nothing short of disgusting to know that people, including young men, drove around a young woman in distress and crying for help instead of stopping to see if she was okay,

? he told Northside People.

“I hope these people are proud of themselves. It’s also a crying shame that the gardai who came to the scene didn’t have a suitable passenger vehicle to bring her home because of a lack of resources.

“They had to give her

?¬2.50 out of their own pockets so that she could get a bus home.

“It’s an absolute disgrace and just shows you what we’ve come to as a country, although I am grateful to the gardai and understand they did what they could for her.

?

Noel, who has worked as a taxi driver for 15 years, said he and other cabbies he knows try to steer clear of the area where the attack occurred.

“I try to stay away from it because of all the attacks and incidents I’ve heard of there,

? he said.

“A taxi driver I know was robbed at knifepoint there a couple of weeks ago and a friend of mine was also assaulted while driving a fare there two weeks ago.

?

A spokesperson for the Garda Press Office told Northside People:

“Gardaí in Coolock are investigating an armed robbery that occurred at 18.15 in Coolock on February 11.

?