THE family of a Japanese man stabbed to death in Dundalk last week have thanked the people of Ireland for the ‘kindness’ shown to them.
Yosuke Sasaki, 24, was killed by Egyptian asylum seeker Mohamed Morei in a random knife attack on Wednesday as he walked to work at 9am.
Morei, 18, was charged with Mr Sasaki's murder on Thursday at Dundalk District Court .
In a statement released today, the Sasaki family said: "We would like to express our sincere gratitude for the kindness the people of Ireland have shown.
"When he was alive, our son spoke about the warmth of the people of this town and his love of Dundalk.
"He came to Ireland initially as a language student and only intended a short stay. However, he was touched by the kindness of the Irish people, and he decided to work here.
"As a family, we are truly saddened by what has happened, but we hope that this incident will not give Japanese people a bad impression of Ireland.
"We would like to give our heartfelt thanks to the ambulance personnel, the Gardaí, National Pen Limited, Mr Oliver Morgan who set up the GoFundMe page, the staff of the Embassy of Japan, and the members of Louth County Council who organised tonight’s candlelight vigil.
"Finally, we hope that a tragic event like this one will never happen in this country again.
"The Sasaki Family.”
Yosuke Sasaki was originally from Ebina, west of Tokyo, and had been living in Ireland for around a year.
It is believed he was targeted randomly by Morei, who attacked two other men within the space of 40 minutes.
The Egyptian was charged with murder on Thursday.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people have attended a candlelit vigil in Dundalk tonight in memory of Mr Sasaki.
A large crowd gathered in Dundalk’s Market Square this evening to remember the young man.
