Dublin store owner speaks out about daily fear due to anti-social teenage attacks

Shoplifting is a regular occurrence at the store

CCTV footage shows gang of teenagers entering store and throwing items at staff

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A Dublin retailer has spoken out about the fear he and his staff regularly experience as a result of teenage gangs terrorising them on a daily basis.

Last Thursday, CCTV captured an incident at the convenience store in Willowpark, Finglas, when dozens of teenagers entered the store, taking items and then throwing them at staff.

At 6.20pm a group of teenagers can be seen in the footage entering the shop with their hoods up. They then started taking items such as chocolate, ice creams and jellies and throwing them. Some of the youths also filmed the incident on their own mobile phones.

Store employees quickly pulled down the shutters and one received minor injuries during the incident, when he was struck on the hand.

Store owner Soji Mathew said he found operating the store extremely stressful in the current environment and that he always needed to have two or three employees working at all times, as staff members are too afraid to work there on their own.

“We don’t feel safe in our own shop,” he said in an Irish Independent report.

“We have a lot of nice customers but there are regulars who come in and take stuff,” Mathew added.

A gardai representative said investigations are ongoing.

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