An aggressive teenager launched a heavy water bottle at a man during a confrontation in Dublin.
Arturo and his boyfriend, Francesco, were in Dublin city centre waiting for a bus on Aston Quay on Tuesday night when they were taunted by a group of teenagers. Arturo, 36, told Dublin Live: "One of the boys threw a can at me that went over my head. I threw the can back because he hit another person."
Things took a dangerous turn when the teenage boy went into a shop and came out with a large, fully-filled water bottle. Arturo said: "He started waving it at us and yelled at us to leave. The other boys joined him saying they didn't want us there."
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Arturo began to record the confrontation after the group became aggressive towards the couple. Before he knew it, the boy hurled the heavy bottle straight at Arturo.
He said: "The bottle hit me in the face and I dropped my phone like three metres away. I asked him why he threw it at us and he just said, ‘Because…’"
When Francesco's bus arrived, the boy followed him inside and threw a bottle at him again. "The bus driver was shaking with fear," Arturo said.
He added: "My boyfriend came out of the bus and the guy punched him in the face. He was 14 or 15 years old so it was a weak punch."
Finally, Francesco managed to get on the bus and the driver quickly closed the door and drove off. Arturo, who moved to Ireland from Mexico three years ago, said he's angry because he couldn't defend himself or his boyfriend.
He said: "There isn’t a lot you can do. As an immigrant, if you defend yourself you will get punished."
A garda spokeswoman said investigations are ongoing into the incident.
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