A man has died and two others are injured after a stabbing at an International Protection Accommodation Services centre in Co Kerry.
One man was fatally wounded, a second was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries, and a third was injured following the incident at Ballymullen Barracks in Tralee at about 5.20am on Saturday.
Gardaí and emergency services responded to reports of a disturbance at the centre. Upon arrival, they discovered a man with serious injuries. He was pronounced dead a short time later.
A second man, aged in his 40s, also sustained injuries during the incident and was taken to University Hospital Kerry. His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
Another man, also in his late 40s, was arrested at the scene in connection with the investigation. He is currently being detained under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 at a Garda station in Co Kerry.
It is believed that the dead man and those injured are all Somalian nationals, as is the man who has been detained for questioning about the stabbing incident.
It’s understood gardaí have begun taking witness statements from a number of other men who were on the property at the time that a row broke out and the men were stabbed.
The Office of the State Pathologist has been notified and the Garda Technical Bureau has been requested to attend. The scene is being preserved for forensic and technical examination.
A postmortem will be arranged. A senior investigating officer has been appointed and an incident room is being established at Tralee Garda station.
The Department of Integration has been using the former army barracks at Ballymullen to house asylum seekers since May 2024.
The former barracks is designated to house up to 50 single male international protection applicants and operates on a one-year licence agreement with the Department of Defence.
Gardaí are appealing to anyone with information that may assist the investigation to contact Tralee Garda station.