This garda and GAA star was recovering last night – after he was savagely assaulted by a gang who threatened him with a gun and doused him in petrol.
“He is lucky to be alive,” a source said as detectives hunted the gang behind the brutal attack on Padraig Scott in Co Cavan yesterday.
Garda Scott, who has played intercounty football for his native Roscommon, was beaten around the head in the attack close to Loughan House open prison at Blacklion.
He was so disorientated he could not tell colleagues where he was when he raised the alarm.
Instead, they used a special tracing facility on his garda computer to find him down an isolated roadway.
He suffered from concussion after the attack — the second time he has been assaulted on duty in just a year.
Some 12 months earlier, Garda Scott, 29, was badly assaulted when he arrested a suspected drink driver while he was on lone patrol in Co Cavan — just like yesterday’s incident.
He was taken to hospital in Sligo after his colleagues rescued him at around 2am yesterday — but was discharged last night and is recovering at home.
It’s the third time Garda Scott, who is based in Blacklion, has been attacked on duty since he joined the Garda in 2016.
A few months later he was assaulted on the steps of Cavan courthouse.
“He is a top lad, but he really has been through the mill,” one source said.
Gardai now suspect the attackers who subjected him to the nightmare ordeal may have doused him in accelerant to try to remove their DNA from him after the initial attack.
It’s understood Garda Scott’s ordeal began when he approached a car that had been acting suspiciously close to Loughan House at around 2am.
He went to challenge the occupants after they drive down a small roadway, but they then turned on him and threatened him with a handgun.
The thugs then beat Garda Scott repeatedly around the head before dousing him in petrol and escaping.
He managed to call for assistance on his personal tetra radio and officers used the force’s Automatic Vehicle & Personnel Location System to track him down.
He was rushed to Sligo University Hospital for treatment for head injuries.
Local Garda Chief Superintendent Alan McGovern last night appealed for the public’s help to find his attackers.
“This is a very serious and concerning attack on an unarmed member of An Garda Síochána going about their normal duties keeping people safe,” he said.
“Thankfully the incident has not resulted in a fatality or other serious injury. The exact motive for this attack is yet to be determined but it is extremely concerning that a member of An Garda Síochána appears to have been targeted and doused in some form of accelerant, the exact intent of this attack is unknown at this time.
“I am appealing for any person with any information on this attack to contact investigating Gardaí.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Cavan Garda Station at 049 4368800, the Garda Confidential Phone Number 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.
Gardai were last night trying to establish who the gang was — and what they were up to when Garda Scott challenged them.
“We don’t know who they were at this stage,” a source added.
James Morrisroe, Garda Representative Association rep for Cavan/Monaghan, said more needs done to punish people who attack members of the force.
“This horrific and vicious assault once again highlights the dangers faced by our membership while on duty,” he added. “Gardai working alone need to be assured their safety is a top priority for their employer.”
