A brave Luas driver has been hailed as a "hero" after a gang of armed thugs stormed a tram and attacked a youth in the city centre this evening.
The group of around 20 young men bombarded the tram in front of "terrified" passengers at the Parnell Luas stop shortly after 5:30pm.
The tram driver quickly alerted gardai and was praised for his actions by passenger David, who also alerted Luas authorities via Twitter.
David told the Irish Mirror: "I boarded the Luas at the Parnell stop and just as it was ready to go, I'm guessing around 20 in a group seemed to bombard the Luas.
"There was a lot of screaming and shouting, fighting, pushing, that kind of thing.
"The driver called the police and he told them he had done that, he announced it over the loudspeaker.
"They then left and ran down the street, I think they were running towards the next stop. It took them a minute to get off the train and he [the driver] wouldn't move until the doors [had closed].
"I think a lot of people were trying to stay away from where they were. He held the Luas before the next stop, I don't know was it because they were on the next platform and he was trying to stop them getting back on."
David estimated that those involved were all under the age of 30 at the very least, but he wasn't sure what had caused the fighting among the group.
And he added that he had never seen such levels of anti-social behaviour in three years of taking public transport in the capital.
"When they were running away, one of them appeared to be brandishing a knife," he continued.
"I don't know whether it was a knife or a prop or something, it looked fairly large.
"They were all running away and it definitely appeared to be a knife that he was kind of brandishing as he ran away."
David heaped praise on the driver, whom he said was extremely calm throughout the ordeal and was "incredibly firm" in ordering the gang off the tram.
However, he added there was "no security" on the Luas as he continued his journey home to Sandyford.
"I don't know what was happening with the police locally but certainly it would have been nice to see a security presence on the Luas fairly quickly to know it was being taken seriously," he said.
A garda spokesperson confirmed to Dublin Live they attended the scene but the gang fled before they arrived.
He said: "Gardaí were alerted to an incident of youths at the Luas line at Parnell Street in Dublin earlier today, assaulting a youth this evening Tuesday 28th September, 2021 at approximately 5.40p.m.
"A number of Garda units attended the scene and youths had dispersed upon arrival. Enquiries ongoing."
Dublin Live has contacted Luas operator Transdev for a response.
To get all the latest breaking Dublin news straight to your inbox sign up for our free newsletter
