Mayo policing concerns escalate as major probe is ongoing

An urgent plea for additional police resources in Castlebar has been issued at a time when gardaí in the county town are conducting a major investigation in the aftermath of an alleged assault on a teenager on September 14 last.

A young man has been recovering at Mayo University Hospital as a result of wounds suffered in the attack, which occurred in the vicinity of the town park.

His injuries have been described as 'serious but not life-threatening’.

Social media has been rife with worrying conjecture and innuendo since the incident occurred.

The speculation heightened last Thursday when gardaí carried out a number of searches in Castlebar as part of what it described as 'an ongoing investigation'.

Considerable police activity was observed by members of the public at two locations close to the town centre.

The Connaught Telegraph can confirm that these searches were directly related to the assault incident.

Gardaí remain on the alert as they are fearful of the situation escalating.

Local Councillor Michael Kilcoyne said there is a great deal of concern in Castlebar about the matter.

"I am also concerned over the fact that there is a lack of garda resources in the county town to deal with situations of this nature and it needs to be addressed.

"We still have a situation where there is neither a chief superintendent nor superintendent based in the town and that's unacceptable in my view."