Two Gardai assaulted as they confront burglars in shocking Athlone incident

Two Gardai were assaulted after finding burglars emerging from a window of a house in Athlone in the early hours of this morning.

Three men are being questioned today following the shocking incident in the Clonbrusk area at 1.55am this morning.

Gardai were in the area responding to a report of break-ins to a number of cars, when they received a call from a member of the public regarding suspicious behaviour at the rear of a house in the area.

On arrival, Gardai found three males, two emerging from a window of the house.

One of the men, who was armed with a chisel, assaulted a male Garda, who is understood to be unharmed.

A female Garda member received minor leg injuries in an assault from another of the three men, and received medical attention.

Garda reinforcements were soon on the scene and all three were arrested. A hammer and a piece of piping was also seized by Gardai and a knife was seized from the third man.

The home was occupied at the time by a couple who were awoken by the commotion outside their property.

The three are being detained at Athlone Garda Station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.

They range in age from 20 to 30, with two from the area and the other from Birr.