CONCERNED families in a quiet rural parish are to take immediate steps to set up a Community Alert scheme following an alleged attempted abduction of a young boy in the local GAA field at the weekend.
Over 100 people turned out for a public meeting to discuss the issue last night and it was unanimously agreed that steps need to be taken to ensure locals are better prepared should any similar incident occur in the future.
It follows a terrifying incident in Scartaglen on Saturday afternoon when an 11-year-old boy, playing alone with a football at the local pitch, was approached by a man dressed in black, wearing a hood with his face covered, with another man waiting in a black car.
One of the men walked in the boy’s direction but the alert child, who lives near the GAA grounds, escaped through a gap in a perimeter fence and raised the alarm.
It is understood that one of the men pursued the boy until he reached his home and then left with the other man who had followed in the car.
At the meeting organised by Scartaglen GAA Club last night, the public was told exactly what happened on Saturday and locals gathered to offer support to the boy and his family.
The need for a Community Alert system was stressed and that plan is to be put in place as soon as possible to encourage people to be more vigilant.
In the meantime, while parents are being advised not to leave children unattended in public, they have also been encouraged to continue with their normal activities and it was pointed out that the alleged incident occurred outside of GAA club training times.
One Scartaglen GAA official remarked: “I hope we can all learn from it. We’ve all been rattled by this and our children are rattled but it’s not going to be that we’re all afraid to go outside the door”.
“We’re going to move on from it and we’re going to get closer and more vigilant,” the spokesperson added
The public meeting was told that social media news sites like KillarneyToday.com can provide a very informative and immediate service to communities when an alert needs to be conveyed to the public.
© KillarneyToday.com is the 24/7 online news service provided by O’Mahony Media
Advertise to boost your business: Over 300,000 views every month. Over 20,000 followers on Facebook. Call 087-2229761
