A young boy was hit with a hammer after he and his pals were targeting by thugs who mugged them in Swords last night.
Gardai are investigating the horror robbing which took place in the busy north Dublin town while the younger boys were out collecting a takeaway.
The gang of four followed the boys in a red car before cornering them in the Ridgewood area around 9:30 last night, demanding their phones and making them restore the devices' factory settings.
The cowardly thieves then made off with the boys’ phones as well as money - and they even stole the food they were bringing home.
The distraught mother of one of the victims took to social media last night to warn parents to be vigilant in light of this latest attack - there have been dozens of similar attacks across Dublin in recent months.
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The furious mum wrote: "Please be very vigilant, my son was robbed out in Swords tonight along with his friends.
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“Their phones were taken off them while on the way back from getting food. They even had the cheek to take their food along with their phones and money!”
The furious mum said that the gang had followed the boys in a red car, adding that the gang “didn’t even look old enough to be driving”.
She continued: “The cowards had a hammer and hit my son, then made them unlock their phones to turn off iCloud."
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She described the gang as being three white males and one black male, and she said that one of the thugs wore braces.
Gardai told Dublin Live they are investigating the sickening attack.
They said: "Gardaí in Swords are investigating a robbery incident that occurred at Rathingle Road, Swords on the 18/4/2018.
"At approximately 9:45pm three male youths in their mid teens where approached and confronted by 4 males (one armed with a hammer).
"They threatened the youths, and struck one one the shoulder with the hammer, before taking their mobile phones.
"The four fled the scene in a car. No arrests have been made to date and no one was injured during the incident.
"The investigation is ongoing."
