MORE THAN €16,000 has been raised online to help the family of a teenager who was fatally stabbed after attending evening prayers at his local Sufi mosque in south Dublin.
Azzam 'Azzy' Raguragui, 18, was attacked while walking home in Finsbury Park, Dundrum shortly after 8pm on Friday and later died at St James's Hospital.
The schoolboy, whose parents moved to Ireland from Morocco in 2001, had no criminal record and has been described as a friendly youngster who was a GAA fan and hoped to become an entrepreneur.
Gardaí have spoken to a teen who is the chief suspect in the killing, according to reports.
The juvenile male – who is under the age of 17 and also from the local Muslim community – presented himself to a Garda station on Saturday with his parents and a prepared statement, reports Extra.ie.
A source told the website that the youth claimed to Gardaí that he acted in self-defence and was not arrested after giving his statement.
Azzy, as he was known to pals, had no criminal record and was a 'polite' fan of GAA (Image: GoFundMe)"Gardaí are following a definite line of enquiry. A voluntary statement was made and is being followed up on," the source said.
"The priority now is to speak to all the other teenagers present. No arrests have yet been made."
It is understood that a number of people were in the vicinity of the killing at the time and Gardaí are continuing attempts to identify everyone who was present.
Another source told Independent.ie: "No arrests have yet been made and a juvenile teen is continuing to assist Gardaí with their investigation.
"This is a very sensitive investigation given the young ages of people involved and Gardaí will take their time progressing the inquiry to establish exactly what happened."
According to the Irish Times, the suspect is closely associated with men from south Dublin who have engaged in serious violence in the past, including assaulting Garda officers during a drugs raid.
The boy, who has not been named, continued to assist Gardaí in their enquiries on Sunday.
Online fundraiser
A GoFundMe page set up to help the Raguragui family has raised over €16,500 from almost 1,000 donors, as of noon on Monday.
Writing on the online fundraiser, the deceased's cousin Younes Talibi wrote: "My dear cousin Azzam, you'll be highly missed.
"May Allah grant him the highest place in paradise, forgive his sins and give strength to his family and friends."
Other friends and loved-ones took to social media to pay their respects to the young man.
One wrote: "We were all saddened to hear about the news of Our brother Azzam who was stabbed yesterday by some criminals in around the Dundrum area.
"We all remember Azzam's beautiful character and smile, we were also comforted with the fact that his Father and Mother were pleased with him and in that alone there is a glad tiding."
Another added: "In a better place now Azzy".
Dad's tribute
Special prayers in Azzam's memory were held at the Clonskeagh Mosque in Talbot Street on Saturday night.
The teen's grieving dad Abdurrahman Raguragui led the prayers at the Sufi mosque in an heartbreaking tribute to his late son.
Mosque spokesperson Dr Ali Selim told the Irish Sun: "It was a very emotional tribute. The father paid tribute to his son.
"He described him as a good son who was very polite, very decent and who never raised his voice".
Dr Selim added that Azzam died on Friday which was "the most special Muslim days" and during the holy month of Ramadan.
"The father prayed he would be accepted into paradise. It was very emotional, it was very moving."
Dundrum-based Rosemount Mulvey FC held a minute's silence before their last game of the season on Saturday.
The soccer club have just won their second successive league and cup double, which they dedicated to young Azzam.
Any witnesses or anynone with information is urged to call Dundrum Garda Station 01 666 5600, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.
