However, the quick actions of the 45-year-old Irish Rail employee has earned praise from a young woman from north Africa and her 20-month-old son who were the victims of an apparent assault in Sallynoggin.
It was about 2.30pm on Tuesday, July 22, in a cul-de-sac close to Thomastown Park.
“I run that route every day. About 200 metres ahead of me, I could see a woman pushing a buggy on the cycle path, and as a cyclist got closer to her he was remonstrating and screaming at her to move off,” said Mr Warner.
“All of a sudden he starts grabbing her and pulling her while she was trying to hold on to the buggy.
“He very violently pushed her — the baby and the buggy flipped right on to the hard ground and he started to cycle off.”
Jogger Shane Warner came to he assistance of an African woman and her 20-month-old baby
Today’s News in 90 Seconds – 17 August
An athlete and participant in ironman and ultra-marathon competitions, he sprinted after the cyclist and caught up with him after several minutes.
He then held on to the handlebars so the cyclist could not move any further.
The baby lost consciousness for several minutes, and we were so worried about his injuries
“At this point there were a few witnesses, and I rang the gardaí and emergency services with someone’s phone.”
Several people, including a retired garda, had come to assist of the young woman, who was distraught, while her child’s face was covered in blood and he was very upset.
The woman’s husband, who does not wish to be named, said he will be forever grateful to Mr Warner and to several others who went to assist his 24-year-old wife.
The woman, who does not want to be named, had walked the same route every day to and from Dún Laoghaire with the couple’s only child.
As she recalls, the cyclist held on to her breast when he grabbed her and “screamed very loudly”.
“When the baby fell, the entire pram fell on top of him as he was strapped in, so he was upside down on the ground,” her husband said.
“The baby lost consciousness for several minutes, and we were so worried about his injuries. I tried to stop my son’s bleeding and clear his mouth, and two ambulances then arrived.
“Our son was taken to the children’s hospital in Crumlin and he didn’t walk for a couple of hours after we got there. He lost a tooth as well as having a lot of bleeding on his head. He was monitored for several days after that.”
To have something like this happening in broad daylight in a quiet area of Dublin is so shocking
The child is recovering, but the woman has not felt able to leave their home since the incident and remains traumatised.
“I have been living here in Ireland for 17 years,” said the 30-year-old husband, who is an engineer.
“I studied in University of Limerick and used to cycle at night through what they called ‘stab city’, but I never witnessed anything other than small incidents there.
“To have something like this happening in broad daylight in a quiet area of Dublin is so shocking.”
The cyclist was arrested by gardaí, taken for questioning and released without charge.
As part of their investigation, officers have taken statements from the young woman and from witnesses, including Mr Warner.
Gardaí from the area confirmed they have been investigating an assault that occurred in the area of Thomastown Park on July 22.
“A male infant, 20 months, was injured during the incident and taken to Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) at Crumlin for treatment,” they said in a statement.
“A male, aged in his 50s, was arrested and detained. He has since been released without charge and investigations are ongoing.”