A 15-year-old teenager was arrested after attacking a man and injuring a police officer in Newry at the weekend.
A ‘Good Samaritan’ who attempted to intervene and break up a fight was allegedly punched in the face by the teenager, resulting in the loss of several teeth, while a police officer was knocked to the ground and required hospital treatment.
Writing on the PSNI Newry and Mourne Facebook page, police revealed the incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning in the Downshire Road area.
Police responding to a report of an assault, were confronted by the teen who knocked two officers to the ground in a bid to escape. One officer needed hospital treatment for a suspected broken shoulder. A man was also treated in hospital for facial injuries, police said.
The assailant was eventually arrested by force, “taken to ground by a crude rugby tackle”, and was found to have “three dozen or so” tablets in his possession which were identified as a Class A drug.
In addition to the two counts of grevious bodily harm and various public order offences, the accused was further arrested for possession of class A and possession with intent to supply.
Police praised hospital staff who treated the injured: “Our thanks to the A&E staff in Daisy Hill. One doctor should have finished work three hours earlier but was still there when we left.”
The accused has since been released on bail pending further enquiries.