Garda appeal following Dunboyne carjacking

An elderly woman was the victim of a terrifying carjacking in Dunboyne yesterday afternoon. The woman was in the passenger seat of a brown Nissan Qashqai parked outside the Eurospar store in Dunboyne, waiting for a family member who had gone into the shop when the incident occurred at around 3.10pm.

She was approached by a lone male who got into the driver's seat of the car and produced an implement, which gardai say they are satisfied was not a firearm. He threatened the elderly lady and told her to get out of the car, which she did.

He then drove off. The woman's handbag and mobile phone were taken. The car was found a short time later in the grounds of Dunboyne Castle. The elderly woman was very shaken by the ordeal but was not physically injured. Gardai seized the vehicle and it is being technically examined.

Superintendent Jim Cannon of Ashbourne Gardai Station is appealing for anyone who witnessed the incident or saw anything unusal around that time to contact Ashbourne Garda Station. 'The car was a brown Nissan Qashqai with a 141 MH registation. We are interested in talking to anyone who witnessed the incident itself or saw the car being driven off or being left in Dunboyne Castle,' he said.

CCTV in the vicinity of both scenes is being examined as part of the Garda investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Ashbourne Garda Station on (01) 8010600.