A man stabbed to death off Grafton Street in Dublin’s south inner city tried to flee from his killer but was pursued for a distance before being caught and wounded several times.
The man, named as Qayyum Balogun, collapsed on Clarendon Street and could not be revived, with his killer escaping before gardaí arrived.
Gardaí believe his killing was part of a wider dispute between rival groups after a gig in the south inner city that ended just before 3am on Monday morning.
The Irish Times understands the dead man, aged 21, is of Nigerian origin and had long settled in Ireland. He had worked as a gig promoter in central Dublin and was known on the music and promotions scene in the city.
Gardaí believe Balogun was at an event on Sunday night, into the early hours of Monday morning, at a venue on Grafton Street. Though the Garda investigation had still not fully established the precise sequence of events, it appears a dispute broke out after an event he had attended on Sunday night into Monday morning.
The victim tried to flee from the scene, at about 3am, but was pursued as he ran from Grafton Street on to Johnson’s Court before turning on to Clarendon Street, where it appears he was caught and stabbed.
He collapsed at the scene, with several people dispersing before gardaí arrived. The victim was attended to on Clarendon Street by gardaí and paramedics before being taken to St James’s Hospital. Despite efforts to save him, he was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
Gardaí suspect the dispute that led to his stabbing unfolded between rival groups. Although the victim’s fatal stabbing was at the centre of the Garda investigation, Pearse Street gardaí are also examining wider disorder, involving two large groups, in the area at the time.
Grafton Street and the surrounding streets are heavily covered by CCTV and gardaí were also trying to secure footage of the location where the dispute initially broke out in an attempt to determine how the incident began. They were hopeful the footage would also help establish the identities of those involved.
Some of Grafton Street was cordoned off on Monday as detectives and forensics teams searched areas along the path Balogun is believed to have travelled after the incident began and side streets to the west from Chatham Street to Johnson’s Court.
Retailers in the area said gardaí had requested CCTV footage from a series of locations along Grafton Street, Clarendon Street and Coppinger Row, with specific interest in any footage captured near the Powerscourt Shopping Centre.
The State Pathologist was informed and a postmortem will be arranged.
Gardaí from Pearse Street station have appealed for witnesses to come forward with information, and for those who may have CCTV or dashcam footage to provide this.
A spokesperson for Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said he was briefed on the incident and extended his condolences to the deceased man’s family.
