A man was left with a broken jaw after being attacked and robbed by thugs in Dublin city centre last weekend.
David Browne, 21, said he was set upon and attacked by a group of six men, who took his phone and threatened to stab him.
The incident happened on the boardwalk at Bachelor’s Walk at around 4am on Sunday, January 22.
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David said he was “punched repeatedly” by the thugs who stole his phone and left him laying injured on the street.
He wrote on Instagram: “I was making my way home from a night out in the early hours of Sunday 22 January on Bachelor’s Walk when a group of approximately six young adult males approached me and took my phone.
“I tried to grab it back and I was punched repeatedly in the jaw. I tried to run and they kicked my face many times.
“They demanded the passcode for my phone at knifepoint as I lay on the ground.”
The thugs left David “covered in a pool of my own blood” and he managed to get up and make his way to Pearse Street Garda station.
The Kildare man was in severe pain and could feel his jaw bone and teeth “swimming around” in his mouth following the attack.
Doctors at St James’s Hospital discovered he had a broken jaw and he needed emergency surgery.
He is now on a liquid diet for the next six to eight weeks, but he feels like he was “one of the lucky ones” because he has no brain damage and can still communicate.
But as a gay man, David fears that other people who identify as gay may be attacked when out on the streets of the capital.
He warned: “Dublin is not a safe place. Violence and homophobia are unfortunately a daily threat.
“Don’t let your friends be alone at night and always travel in groups to your next destination.”
A Garda spokesman confirmed they are investigating the incident.
He added: “Gardai received report of an incident of robbery that occurred on 22 January 2023 on Bachelor’s Walk, Dublin 1.
“One man aged in his 20s was taken to St James’s Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries sustained during this incident.
“No arrests have been made at this time and investigations are ongoing.”
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