Shocking moment masked attacker throws Molotov cocktail into fish and chip shop as terrified customers wait for their meals in Dublin
This is the terrifying moment a masked man launched a fiery Molotov cocktail into a fish and chip shop as hungry elderly customers waited for their takeaway.
The balaclava-clad man came across the Zia takeaway in Dublin, Ireland, with the petrol bomb already on fire before he threw it, narrowly missing a cringing female staff member.
Three elderly men, who were patiently waiting for their food, quickly fled the restaurant as clouds of thick black smoke filled the premises.
Brave staff quickly took action and rushed to the fire extinguisher so they could douse the flames before the eatery could be set on fire.
The shocking moment was captured by CCTV at the takeaway on Tuesday at 8pm.
A man in a balaclava launched a fiery Molotov cocktail into a fish and chip shop as hungry elderly customers waited for their takeaway (pictured)
The shocking CCTV footage shows the petrol bomb narrowly missing a female staff member who cowered behind the counter of Zia’s takeaway in Dublin
Outside cameras also caught the thug dragging across the car park outside the fish and chip shop in Walkinstown.
He is seen hiding the Molotov cocktail behind his back before setting it on fire and storming into the takeaway full of elderly customers.
Within seconds the criminal ran away into the darkness of the night as the chip shop’s heroic staff battled the flames.
Locals are baffled by the incident, with one furious commenting: ‘What about people who molotovate takeaways?’
A second said: ‘That woman could have been seriously injured.’
Others described the attack as ‘horrific’, while others branded the criminal a ‘cowardly son of a bitch’.
Another joked: “They forgot his garlic sauce, I heard.”
Irish police, also known as the Garda, are currently hunting for the attacker.
The shocking incident happened at around 8pm on March 19 at Zia’s takeaway (pictured) in Walkinstown, Dublin.
The three elderly men waiting for their food quickly fled the scene, while the heroic staff immediately went to work in an attempt to contain the flames.
Staff rushed to the fire extinguisher and extinguished the flames, saving the store from being engulfed in an inferno
A Garda spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘Gardaí are investigating an incident of criminal damage by fire which occurred at a shop in Walkinstown, Co. Dublin on March 19, 2024 at approximately 8:00 PM.
“There have been no injuries reported at this time and no arrests have been made. Investigations are ongoing.”
MailOnline has contacted Zia’s Takeaway for comment.
The shocking incident comes after a house was petrol bombed while a mother and her 11-year-old slept inside.
Laura Coupland, 39, and her son Lincoln-Jay feared for their lives after the terrifying attack on her three-bedroom home in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, in July last year.
She claims two petrol bombs were thrown, one at her car and one at her front door, leaving black and smoldering in the aftermath and forcing her and her son to move.
Laura, who has since moved to a new house, said: ‘Me, my son and the dogs were sleeping in that house at the time.
“My son was too scared to go back; it’s had a pretty big impact on both of us.
‘I almost had a nervous breakdown and became very depressed. It also affected my son, he got quite angry about it.
“The fire damaged the house and destroyed everything.”
The attacker could be seen searching the car park with the petrol bomb hidden behind his back before setting it on fire and launching it into the fish and chip shop.
The unknown man quickly fled the store seconds after the terrifying incident