Gardai probe after 'children hijack Limerick bus at gunpoint' and lead driver to 'planned ambush'
This comes just days after a female bus driver was left traumatised when she was shot in the face by a child wielding an air gun on the same bus route
Gardai are investigating the gunpoint hijacking of a bus by a group of children, who subsequently led the driver into a planned ambush on a busy route in Limerick City.
This comes just days after a female bus driver was left traumatised when she was shot in the face by a child wielding an air gun on the same bus route. A seat on a bus on the same route, serving the Kilmallock Road to Pineview in Limerick City, was also found in recent days to have had razor blades “implanted” in the seats, causing serious risk to passengers.
Condemning the hijacking, Stephen Nugent of the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) explained that a group of youths boarded bus this past Sunday and threatened to shoot the bus driver with what was believed to be air gun if he didn't take them to a location off of the bus route.
READ MORE: Female Bus Eireann driver shot in the face with air gun in horrifying attack on bus in Limerick
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Mr Nugent said the gang also refused to pay for tickets on the bus. "They wanted to travel from one side of the estate to the other. They got on the bus and wouldn't pay their fare basically. And if the driver didn't carry them to where they wanted to go, they were going to shoot him," Mr Nugent explained.
"The driver was terrified, so he brought them up to where they wanted to go." Mr Nugent said that when the driver reached the off-route location, he was ambushed by a waiting group of youths, who he believes had been instructed by the gang on the bus, pelting the bus with bricks and stones.
Gardaí confirmed they are investigating a “public order incident” on the 303 bus route on July 14 in the John Carew Park area at approximately 4.30pm.
A Garda spokeswoman said that "investigations are ongoing" after "Gardaí in Roxboro Road were alerted to a public order incident involving a bus, which occurred in John Carew Park, Southill, Limerick, on Sunday 14th July 2024 at approximately 4.30pm”.
Bus services in the Carew Park and O'Malley Park areas have been temporarily suspended on account of the spate of attacks, but it is understood talks are currently ongoing between Bus Éireann and the NBRU to resume them in the coming days – albeit to Carew Park only.
The NBRU representative has said that there will be no resumption of services in the O'Malley Park area until issues surrounding anti-social behaviour are addressed. Up to now, bus services in O'Malley Park between 5pm and midnight have been accompanied by a security car, according to Mr Nugent. "That came under attack also a couple of weeks ago," the NBRU representative said.
The hijacking follows an incident last Friday (July 12) in which a female bus driver on the same route was shot in the face with an air gun by a young boy after he refused to pay the bus fare. Also on the 303 route, a bus driver was alerted to razor blades shoved into a number of seats on a bus when undertaking a routine inspection.
"Someone had ripped up five or six seats on one of the busses and implanted the razor blades into the seats,” Mr Nugent said, adding that “it's constant harassment" for drivers on the route. In a statement, a spokesman for Bus Éireann confirmed that "the vehicle was removed from service".
The incident was referred to Bus Éireann and An Garda Síochána, who both confirmed they were investigating. Mr Nugent said that the bus route "is only after being reinstated for the past year and a half, the service had been pulled out the (O'Malley Park) area for a long time previously because of anti-social behaviour”.
Calling for a dedicated transport police service to be set up to protect both drivers and passengers, Mr Nugent said that "the NBRU have long campaigned for a dedicated transport police solely for public transport".
"That would be our number one game, but to resolve this, the National Transport Authority are going to have to fund up and provide on board security. That's what we need to have to happen here," he concluded.
In a statement, Bus Éireann said that "Bus Éireann does not tolerate antisocial or criminal behaviour towards our customers or staff. The safety of our passengers and staff is of paramount importance to Bus Éireann and any incidents reported are taken very seriously and are fully investigated.
"Customers can report any incidents to Gardaí, to the driver. or to our Customer Care team on 0818 836 611, or via customercare@buseireann.ie," the spokesman said.
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