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Gangs of teenage thugs are roaming the city centre, robbing shops and terrorising shoppers and business owners with rocks, Dublin Live has learned.

The ruthlessly violent thugs are roaming Parnell Street, where they barge into stores to steal whatever they can get their hands on.

The violent thieves also try to take bikes and phones in the area.

The youths keep rocks in their pockets, throwing them at anyone who tries to stop them.

A shop owner told Dublin Live that a gang of young thieves came into his store and stole some items before leaving. He rang the gardai to give information.

The owner of the Quik Pick Store on Parnell Street sent this terrifying video to Dublin Live, where one of the thieves flings a rock at his face.

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The brave owner said he was reporting the crime to the gardai in the video, when one thug suddenly threw the rock at him.

He said: "I never expected him to have a stone in his pocket."

He told Dublin Live his jaw and eardrum were still in severe pain four days after he was struck by the rock.

He continued: "Three inches higher and it would have hit near my brain."

The owner claims the teenagers are at Parnell Street every evening, carrying stones and throwing them "like a baseball" if someone tries to stop them.

These attacks are occurring in multiple stores across Parnell Street. The store owner explained that if you stand outside shops on Parnell Street after 6pm, you'll see gangs of teenagers in the area.

While thugs in the area have been an issue for a while, the owner says those from the video have been terrorising the area for three weeks.

The shop owner said his staff are worried and don't want to work in the evenings, fearing for their safety.

He said: "I've had to stay for extra hours in the evening myself."

Another shop owner in the area told Dublin Live he was attacked three days ago in his store.

He said: "A girl hit me and took stuff from the counter. I'm not sure what she hit me with."

The owner said he followed her as she fled and called gardai, but couldn't do anything as she joined a larger group outside.

"This is the third time in three years that I've been hit in the head."

Both store owners said there is a lack of a Garda presence in the area.

Social Democrat election candidate Gary Gannon said there is a sense of anxiety and of people feeling unsafe throughout the north inner city and central Dublin.

He told Dublin Live: "What's clearly lacking is a focus on small crimes. Shoplifting, stealing bikes, making people afraid - there doesn't seem to be any enforcement.

"What I can say is, people are generally anxious. There seems to be a lack of belief that there’s going to be consequence for this type of behaviour."

In a statement to Dublin Live, a Garda spokesman said: "Gardaí in Store Street are investigating an incident of assault which took place at a premises on Ryders Row.

"A number of youths were causing a disturbance inside the premises and upon leaving, a stone was thrown towards a worker causing injury. Investigation ongoing."