THE devastated mother of a 15-year-old Lagmore girl who has been left with a fractured eye socket after she was attacked with a brick on Saturday night has said that parents need to know where their children are.
Clare Corr’s teenage daughter Lara McGlade was waiting with her friend on Saturday night at Dunmurry train station when she was hit in the face with a brick.
Speaking to the Andersonstown News, Clare said: “We are all devastated for Lara, she was waiting with her friend Whitney who was catching her train home when she was hit with a brick. Lara rang me at 10.10pm on Saturday and I told her to come straight home once Whitney got the train. At 10.15pm Whitney rang me in a terrible state screaming and crying and told me what happened. She said that Lara had passed out and that there was blood everywhere. Lara’s uncle rushed to the station to her, he then rang me and told me I needed to make my way to the hospital as it was bad.”
Once the family arrived at the hospital they learned that Lara had been left with a fractured eye socket and a facial laceration.
Clare said: “There’s a real worry now that Lara’s retina could detach if she coughs or sneezes, she’s terrified.”
Since Saturday night’s incident Lara has been suffering from panic attacks. Clare said: “We have a family wedding today (Tuesday) we have had to arrange for people to stay with Lara, there’s no way she can be left on her own.”
Lara has been given permission by doctors to go on holiday with her family. Her mum said: “We have bought her a massive pair of designer sunglasses to keep her wound out of the sun and to avoid infection. Lara is a typical 15-year-old who has a real interest in beauty, she is devastated about how she looks on the outside. My concern is how she is doing on the inside.”
Sinn Féin MP for West Belfast Paul Maskey said: “I condemn this attack and I wish Lara a speedy recovery. No doubt this will leave a lasting negative impression on her.
“I urge anyone with information to come forward as soon as possible as this attack was a deplorable act and perpetrators need to be brought before the courts.”
A PSNI spokesperson said: “On Monday 10 July, a male attended a police station voluntarily and was interviewed by officers investigating an attack on a teenage girl in Dunmurry at around 10.10pm on Saturday night (July 8).”
No charges have yet been made.
