Homeless man 'blew off his own head with homemade bomb inside charity shelter'

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Forensics officers at the scene of the explosion in Little Britain Street off Capel Street in Dublin on Thursday (Image: PA)
Forensics officers at the scene of the explosion in Little Britain Street off Capel Street in Dublin on Thursday (Image: PA)

The body of a homeless man has been found in a gruesome condition after he reportedly ‘blew his head off’ with a homemade bomb, it has been revealed.

The Eastern European man blew himself up with the device, which he had fashioned out of homemade components, at a homeless shelter in Dublin. The man’s body was found in a horrific state and was lying decapitated on his bed, according to an exclusive report from Dublin Live.

Officers are now understood to be investigating what, if any, motive the man had for detonating the pipe bomb-like device at a Depaul homeless shelter in Dublin's Little Britain Street on Thursday. Detectives from the Irish Gardai are understood to be examining whether the device was accidentally or deliberately blown up by the man, who is believed to have had a history of mental health issues.

The device is understood to have been underneath his bed. Sources say while gardai know the identity of the man, who is originally from Eastern Europe, his name is not yet being released – as officers are still trying to contact any family he may have.

Homeless man 'blew off his own head with homemade bomb inside charity shelter' eiqrriqzriqqhinvThe man is understood to have died after a homemade explosive device exploded under his bed (PA)

Gardai are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.

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It had initially been suspected that the blast at the centre just off Capel Street may have been caused by a gas heater – but that was quickly ruled out. The Defence Forces’ bomb squad was called in to the scene on Thursday night – and was examining the room for clues as to what caused the explosion.

The site houses more than 20 homeless people – but nobody else was injured in the incident – which happened just after 3.15pm.

It’s understood all the residents of the shelter were put up in other accommodation in the city. In a new statement issued yesterday afternoon Depaul said it was “shocked and saddened” by the incident, adding: “Depaul is shocked and saddened by yesterday’s incident at our supported temporary accommodation service in Little Britain Street which resulted in the death of a person being accommodated at the premises.

“Our primary focus since the incident occurred has been to ensure our service users and staff are being supported to deal with the impact of the incident and we will continue to liaise with the gardai as they continue their investigations into the incident.

“As soon as staff were made aware of the incident the building was evacuated and our emergency contingency plan was put in place – prompting an incredible response by our staff, emergency services and our NGO partners. Once evacuated, service users were placed at our designated evacuation point and 71 impacted service users have now been accommodated across other services in Dublin.

“To assist with ongoing efforts to support our service users, our staff, and our volunteers, Depaul has established an incident management centre to help coordinate dedicated efforts.

“Depaul is extremely grateful for the continued support among the public and from first responders.

“Little Britain Street is a critical service for some of the most vulnerable people in our society and our main objective is to reopen as soon as we can.”

Dublin Fire Brigade crews from several stations had rushed to the scene.

A spokesman said: “Five fire engines were mobilised to the scene along with a District Officer. The assistance of ESB Networks, Gas Networks Ireland and An Garda Siochana was requested and the scene was handed over to gardai.”

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