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Two teenagers have informed the Central Criminal Court that a 17-year-old accused of murder behaved in a “hostile” and “aggressive” manner prior to the murder.
The teenager, who cannot be identified, admitted to stabbing 18-year-old Azzam Raguragui, but denies being charged with murder.
Azzam died after being attacked at Finsbury Park on Dundrum in Dublin in May last year.
The two girls stated that they were sitting and standing by a wall with two boys at the rear of the Dundrum shopping center on May 10 last year.
They said a group of children, including the accused, walked alongside them, stopped a short distance away and looked at them before returning.
They said the defendant asked one of his friends what his name was.
One of the girls said that the accused behaved in a “hostile” and “aggressive” manner, the other said that the accused “looked like he was about to go after him.”
CCTV of the incident shown in court showed that the group of six children, including the defendant, did not stop or surround the girls and their friends, but instead walked toward them before turning and leaving again. .
Both witnesses said they later learned of the fatal stabbing on their way home to the Luas.
The court has already heard that Azzam Raguragui was stabbed after a clash between two groups of youths over a fight over a bicycle in Finsbury Park that night.
The 17-year-old defendant pleaded guilty to manslaughter, but denies being charged with murder.
The trial continues this afternoon.
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