18-year-old charged with murder of Japanese man in Dundalk
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An 18-year-old has been charged with the murder of a Japanese man in Dundalk.
Mohamed Morei appeared in court this evening charged in connection with yesterday's attacks.
The court heard the nationality of the accused has not been determined yet and he is to receive psychological treatment while in custody.
A large crowd – some shouting abuse - gathered outside Dundalk District Court this evening as Morei was brought in for this hearing.
Garda Damien Welbey said he charged the 18-year-old at 4.31pm this evening at the Crescent, Dundalk
He was charged with the murder of 24-year-old Yosuke Sasaki and made no reply.
Yosuke was stabbed to death on Avenue Road.
Two other men were also attacked a short while later.
The court heard there is an issue with determining the accused’s nationality and he has no connection with the deceased.
An Arabic interpreter was present for the hearing and an interpreter was requested for further court appearances.
Judge Gerry Jones ordered that the accused should receive the appropriate medical and psychological treatment while in custody.
The accused, who was dressed in a black jumper and grey tracksuit bottoms, made some chants during the brief court appearance including "I am not Muslim" and "I am not gay".
The accused was remanded in custody to appear before Cloverhill District Court next week via video link.
Gardaí have said no terrorist link had been established for the random killing and assaults.
Initially, following the man's arrest gardai said a number of lines of inquiry into the motive for the attacks were being investigated, including terrorism.
The dead man was Japanese, aged 24, and had been living in Ireland for a year.
He has been named as Yosuke Sasaki and is understood to have come from Ebina, west of Tokyo.
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He worked in a call centre in Dundalk and it is believed he was targeted randomly on Avenue Road in Dundalk shortly before 9am on Wednesday as he made his way to the office.
Officials in the Japanese embassy in Dublin have been liaising with the dead man's family and have appealed for privacy.
In the second incident, an Irish man was injured when he was stabbed a short time later on Coes Road in Dundalk, near the scene of the first incident.
At 9.40am yesterday gardaí received a report that another local man had been injured in an attack with a fence pole at Seatown Place.
Morei had come into contact with gardai in Dundalk on January 1 when inquiries about his immigration status were conducted.
It is believed he had applied for asylum in the Irish Republic.