LAST UPDATE | 17 Oct

FAMILY MEMBERS OF the teenage boy who died following a fatal stabbing at a Tusla residential care facility earlier this week in Donaghmede, north Dublin, have paid tribute to the youngster.

The victim has been named as 17-year-old Ukrainian Vadym Davydenko, who had only arrived in Ireland last Sunday.

In social media posts by family members, they said Vadym had left his home country to “search for a better life in Ireland”.

One cousin described the teenager as “kind, very intelligent and mannered” who was set to celebrate his 18th birthday next month.

“He was just 17, he had just graduated from school and left to search for a better life in Ireland,” the relative wrote on Facebook.

Instead of birthday celebrations in a few weeks, the relative said Vadym’s “parents are heartbroken, they do not know how to pick up and bury their child’s body now”.

An aunt of the teenager recalled him as a “loyal friend” who would spend hours with both of his grandmothers, sharing recipes with one and caring for the other while very ill.

A service was held at the Ukrainian Orthodox parish in Dublin today following the boy’s death.

Michael Baskin, from Ukraine Crisis Centre Ireland, an organisation formed in the wake of Russia’s invasion, told The Journal that the death was a “tragedy” and that this week’s incident had “destroyed” lives.

“Whatever your political views, your religious views, this is a tragedy and we send condolences to the family,” Baskin said.

Earlier today, a teenager was arrested on suspicion of murder.

Vadym was fatally injured during an incident at the emergency residential unit on Wednesday morning.

Gardaí and emergency services were called to the scene shortly after 11am, where Vadym Davydenko was found with serious injuries and pronounced dead.

A second male teenager, who was treated in hospital for non-life-threatening injuries following the incident, has now been arrested and is being detained at a garda station in Dublin.

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The scene of the incident is still being preserved by gardaí. RollingNews.ie RollingNews.ie

The scene remains preserved, and gardaí have appealed for anyone with information to contact them.

Tusla confirmed on Wednesday that the incident took place at one of its emergency units that provides 24-hour care to unaccompanied minors seeking international protection.

In a statement, the child and family agency said it is “cooperating fully” with gardaí and that its immediate priority is “the safety and wellbeing of the other young people and staff at the unit”.

The Children’s Rights Alliance described the incident as “exceptional and rare” and said it is vital that the National Review Panel, which examines deaths and serious incidents involving young people known to Tusla, carries out an independent review.

With reporting by Andrew Walsh