GARDAÍ are investigating a petrol bomb attack on a home in Limerick in which a man was injured on Monday night (October 21).
It is the latest in a string of arson attacks and other violent incidents on the south side of Limerick City over the past several days and weeks.
Garda sources warned that tensions are rising among a cohort of different families and factions with several localised disputes threatening to spill over.
A Garda spokesman confirmed that “Gardaí are investigating an incident of criminal damage by fire at a domestic residence in Southill, Limerick, on Monday night, 21st October 2024”.
“A male, aged in his 50s, was conveyed to University Hospital Limerick for treatment of injuries believed to be non-life threatening.”
“No other injuries have been reported at this time,” the spokesman said, adding that “a scene is currently being held for examination and enquiries are ongoing”.
Last Sunday morning (October 22) local Gardaí, fire fighters, and paramedics raced to a house in the same Southill estate after an arson attack, in which a woman in her 40s was taken to hospital after suffering non-life-threatening injuries.
Last Friday (October 18), Gardaí discovered a pipe bomb and requested the assistance of a Defence Forces Explosive Ordnance Detonation (EOD) team after a car burst into flames in another attack at the Star Court estate, John Carew Park.
In another incident last Sunday night (October 20), a man in his late teens was shot in the leg at Hyde Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston, as further tensions escalated on the south side. He too was taken to University Hospital Limerick for treatment.
The previous Friday (October 4), another suspect explosive device, which was later declared not viable, was recovered from underneath a car parked outside houses at Pike Avenue in Garryowen.
Gardaí discovered the device after responding to a complaint of criminal damage to the car, as in the Star Court estate incident.
Late last month, a number of men were recorded approaching a house at Pike Avenue before the house erupted in flames.
One of the men caught on fire as he and the others fled the scene on September 22 in a video widely shared across social media.
A man in his 30s who was in the house at the time jumped from an upstairs window of the property, injuring himself.
Gardaí are investigating if any of the incidents are linked.
