A Deliveroo rider, Brazilian national André Oliveira (26), was seriously injured after being assaulted and struck in the head by a piece of wood on Monday evening last week.
The assault happened near the Royal Canal Way in Cabra, while he was cycling a delivery route at work.
“Everything happened very quickly, but I saw a group of guys, and they didn’t say anything,” he told the Irish Independent.
“[He] just started hitting me with a piece of wood, and then this guy stole my bike, my phone, and I was on the ground.
“Another Deliveroo rider found me and called the gardaí,” he added, as Mr Oliveira was unable to call for help.
He said a group of 10 or more attacked him that night: “But only one guy hit me; the other guys were only [watching] and recording.”
“I’m not the first person that was attacked there. I think it’s a very dangerous place, especially at night. It’s very dark there, so they came from the darkness.”
Gardaí arrived at the scene shortly before 7pm after they received a report of a hijacking of an e-bike at Royal Canal Way in Dublin 7 on November 24.
Mr Oliveira got his new bike on Friday, November 21, only three days before the assault.
His wife, Camilla Barreto, said: “They just hit him on his head, he fell off the bike, and then they hit him again on his head when he was on the floor”.
She added her husband stayed in the Mater Hospital that night and had a CT scan on Tuesday morning.
“We stayed all night there, waiting. And after the CT, they realised it was a serious injury to his head, there was a big bleeding inside, the doctor said,” she told the Irish Independent.
He was rushed to Beaumont Hospital to undergo an emergency brain surgery.
The impact of the assault caused a “severe accumulation of blood in his head”, and he also fractured his shoulder and sprained his ankle during the attack.
The couple, both originally from Brazil and now living in South Dublin, met in Ireland and got married only three weeks ago.
Ms Barreto has been living in Ireland for two and a half years, while Mr Oliveira has been here for two years.
A 26-year-old is now in the Intensive Care Unit in the hospital, unsure when he will be discharged.
“Yesterday, the doctor came here and said there’s no date expected to be discharged. André has a fracture on his left shoulder, and he’s not moving his toes in his left foot,” Ms Barreto said.
“They are going to investigate these injuries, so there’s no date, and the surgery on his head was serious, so they have to check his memory and do more checks and tests before he goes home,” she added.
A GoFundMe fundraiser has now been set up by a friend to help André’s recovery. It raised nearly €42,000 so far, with the goal of €45,000.
“He was violently assaulted and struck in the head,” the fundraiser description reads, describing the attack as “brutal and senseless”.
“He is now in the ICU, fighting to stabilise after this life-threatening assault.
“This heartbreaking incident shows the cruel reality many riders face every day while simply trying to work and provide for their families,” it said.
André Oliveira. Photo: GoFundMe
In a statement, gardaí confirmed that a man, aged in his 20s, suffered injuries “believed to be serious but non-life-threatening” and that his phone was also reported as taken.
An investigation is now underway, and gardaí are appealing for any witnesses to this incident to contact them.
Any road users who may have camera footage, including dash-cam, and were travelling in the area at the time, are asked to make this footage available to investigating gardaí.
Anyone with any information should contact Mountjoy Garda Station on (01) 666 8600, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.