There have been numerous reports this week from people around the country being randomly targeted by groups of teens wielding fireworks.
An Irish man took to the internet to warn people this week after his girlfriend and their new puppy had a ‘rocket’ aimed at them in their own front garden by ‘a random passerby.’
In his post he wrote; “Someone lit a rocket in our hedge, aimed at my girlfriend trying to potty train our puppy that we had for 3 days.
“Chased them to no end, and got scolded by a passerby because I can't just threaten harm on a teenager. What to do.”
The man said he has no cameras on his property and has no evidence or pictures of the culprit, and so can only report what happened by word of mouth and the remnants of the firework.
“They could have harmed both, the puppy ran on the house scared, he seems fine for now but how will he behave from now on.”
This report comes just days after an Irish mum told of how her kids were targeted by teens throwing fireworks into a playground in Cabinteely, Dublin.
She wrote on Monday: “My husband was with our kid in Cabinteely park on one side of the playground, when a teenager set off a firework pointed right at the kids on the other side of the playground.”
The woman said there were no injuries, but she was left “shaking” with fear when she heard that someone would aim a firework at children playing.
A group of parents attempted to catch the culprit, but it’s not known whether they were able to find them and call Gardai.
The mother said: “Just a reminder to be on the lookout and keep yourself and the kids safe this week.
“Especially in areas where there might be teens hanging around bored and tempted to do something stupid and potentially life-altering.”
There have been many warnings as Halloween approaches over the dangers of the explosives and the “life-changing” injuries they can cause.
Gardai warned last week that the public face fines if they’re found to have fireworks on them, or if they’re thought to be selling them.
Earlier this week, Gardai issued a separate warning after being made aware of "potentially life-threatening fireworks" on sale in Ireland.
Concerns were raised around fireworks being brought into the country through Europe, Northern Ireland, and England that are so powerful they could cause fatalities.
In one case, a Chinese-made firework that has made its way into Ireland has been described as "a mini-howitzer".
Another, called a 'Black Skorpion', looks like a small missile and launches a ball of flames several hundred feet into the sky.
Police have warned that over the last ten years, members of the public have suffered third-degree burns, have lost fingers and parts of limbs - all from accidents associated with illegal fireworks.
They are now stressing that all illegal fireworks found will be immediately seized amid fears that bystanders could endure life-changing injuries.
