A shop assistant was stabbed and left lying in a pool of blood in a vicious attack at a busy Limerick store.
The attack happened at 11 p.m. on Sunday night when a man armed with a kitchen knife threatened a member of staff at the Centra store beside the Southcourt Hotel, Raheen, on the outskirts of Limerick city.
The masked intruder stabbed the shop assistant in the neck and left him lying on the ground while he made off with a "sizeable" amount of cash, according to gardaí.
It is understood the victim was grabbed from behind while he was locking up the store.
Gardaí at Roxboro were last night still waiting to interview the victim, who is in his 30s.
"The victim was locking up for the night when a man came into the shop wearing a balaclava and stabbed him in the neck," said a garda source.
"He made off with a sizeable amount of money and the victim was taken to Limerick Regional Hospital where he received a number of stitches to his neck," he added.
Gardaí are appealing to anyone who was in the area of the shop at the time to contact them at Roxboro garda station on (061) 214340.
Meanwhile, two youths found with a case of homemade firearms in a park in Limerick city centre at the weekend have been released without charge.
The two teenagers were arrested by gardaí in the People's Park last Saturday afternoon carrying a box with three guns.
Garda sources described the weapons as "make-shift" but said the box contained the basic components of a firearm, including the barrel and the firing mechanism.
The youths, who are from Limerick city and Co Clare, are not linked to any of Limerick's criminal gangs
A file has been sent to the DPP.