'The stuff of nightmares': Man arrested after woman stabbed and sexually assaulted in Tralee
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A woman was hospitalised after being stabbed and sexually assaulted in an apparent random daytime attack in a Kerry apartment that garda sources have described as "the stuff of nightmares".
The assailant broke into the Maine Street apartment complex in Tralee, a popular residence for students of Munster Technological University (MTU) Kerry, at around 9am on Thursday before subjecting the woman, who is in her 20s, to a harrowing ordeal.
He stabbed the victim with a sharp implement and sexually attacked her before fleeing the scene.
A suspect, an Irish national thought to be in his 30s, was arrested at lunchtime and the scene in Tralee town centre remained cordoned off on Thursday night.
Although gardaí stressed such an incident is rare, one source said the woman's ordeal was horrific in its nature.
She was brought to University Hospital Kerry where she was treated for serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
Gardaí believe the attack was a random one, with no link between the woman and the assailant established.
The apartment is one of a number in a three-storey complex which mostly houses students, though not exclusively. High steel fencing surrounds the back of the apartment.
Gardaí can question the man for 24 hours in relation to the attack.
He is currently detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at a garda station in the Kerry Division.
Local independent councillor Sam Locke described the incident as shocking for the town of Tralee.
“This is a very unfortunate event which I totally condemn," he said.
He said the accommodation where the incident is alleged to have occurred is regularly used by students coming to study in MTU Kerry.
Student sources in Tralee said that the accommodation is typically used by students attending MTU Kerry but that some former students also live in the complex.