Reports that a man was slashed with a scalpel at Galway Racecourse on Tuesday when a robbery went awry are without foundation, according to gardaí.
A spokesperson for Galway Garda station told the Advertiser yesterday that gardaí had not received any report of a man being injured by thieves who used a scalpel to cut his clothes and steal his wallet. A report in the national media yesterday claimed a man reported the theft of his wallet to the temporary Garda station in Ballybrit, and was found to be bleeding from his lower abdomen as a result of being slashed with a scalpel during the robbery. However the spokesperson said no such report had been made, and no one had been injured at Ballybrit.
“There was no stabbing at the racecourse,” the Garda spokesperson said. “No assault took place on anyone at the racecourse on Tuesday evening.”
The spokesperson also said that gardaí are not hunting a gang of Romanian thieves using scalpels to rob people by cutting pockets and handbags, as was claimed in the report, but are dealing with reports of pickpocketing which occur every year and are urging people to be careful with their belongings in large crowds.
The spokesperson said that anyone who wished to report a crime at the racecourse could do so in person at the temporary Garda station in Ballybrit, located in the marquee area, or by contacting Galway Garda station at (091 ) 538000.
