https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/warning-gardai-dublin-thief-cars-19678063Morning hell as brave student Dublin nurse battles screwdriver armed thief during '12-car break-in'One important clue was left behind by the brazen thief which could be monumental in Gardai cracking the caseSHARE
By Darragh Berry Deputy Editor
09:58, 22 JAN 2021 UPDATED12:52, 22 JAN 2021
NEWS
A brave Dublin student nurse caught a brazen screwdriver armed thief in the act after he had smashed her car window and was rummaging around for valuables.
The hardworking front line worker was on her way to work from Ringsend just before 7am when to her horror she noticed the thug with his arm in her window.
The young woman, who wished to remain anonymous, told Dublin Live that Gardai arrived on the scene quickly and examined CCTV cameras as well as carrying out forensics.
One important clue left behind by the thief was his weapon of choice and the screwdriver found on the path outside could be monumental in Gardai cracking the case.
It is understood that as many as twelve cars were broken into on Thursday morning in the space of just five hours.
Shockingly, the woman said that when she rang the glass repair company, they told her they already had four bookings for the same scenario over the last two days in the area.
She is warning inner city residents to keep their cars as safely secured as possible as she's left picking up the pieces from the smash.
The nurse told Dublin Live: "I'm nursing, a student, working every hour I'm needed and it's just sickening to think this is what we have to put up with in our neighbourhood, trying to earn a living and we are out of pocket over some thief.
"I caught him just as he had smashed my window and he had his arm in the car. A neighbour heard me shouting and came down to me, she heard a loud noise just moments before she heard me.
"It's just a pretty crappy thing to walk out to in the dark on your way to work. I've heard from the area that there could have been as much as 12 cars broken into on Wednesday night alone between 2am and 7am, so I'm not the only one who had to face into that on Thursday morning."
The woman said that the thief tried to deny the fact he was breaking into her car at first before running away.
"When I confronted him, he was saying he didn't do it, he was just looking around. But when he realised I was making a lot of noise and his excuse wasn't going to wash, he fled.
Her car is currently in the middle of being mended but the woman said she is thankful it wasn't worse.
"I got sorted in the end but it's just the complete inconvenience of it all. I'm privileged in a sense that I could afford to pay the window replacement charge, many might not have been able to do so with the current economic climate.
"However, I was unable to go to work, leaving my colleagues short staffed on an already understaffed hospital ward."
Gardai are urging anyone who may have been affected or who might have information or gathered CCTV footage in the area around this time to come forward.
