Boy, 17, charged after woman is attacked with drill in «homophobic attack»

A 17-year-old boy has been charged with attacking a woman with a cordless drill in a potentially homophobic attack.

Brenda McLaughlin, 38, is in a critical condition in hospital after being assaulted in Strabane, Co Tyrone, in Northern Ireland, on Saturday.

She suffered a severe head injury after she was attacked at around 2am in Railway Street.

The teenager was charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent, possession of an offensive weapon in a public place and theft.

He is due to appear at Omagh Magistrates’ Court tomorrow.

Police Service of Northern Ireland Detective Sergeant Brian Reid said: ‘This was a brutal attack and the injuries sustained by the victim are extremely grave.

“Anyone with such footage or any other information that could assist the investigation is asked to contact police in Strabane on 101, quoting reference number 153 05/05/18.”

Photo By אנדר-ויק (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons