Caution the keyword as women grow concerned in Athlone

Most people nowadays are pretty safety conscious. People are growing less familiar with a time when you could leave the door off the latch and the message of never talking to strangers has been hammered home to children for many years. However, in recent times in Athlone, for women, even that uncomfortable reality of possible danger appears a distant memory. The series of attacks on five women in Athlone has raisbrought home an entirely new level of danger and sparked fear into the town and its population, particularly its female residents. And whilst we cannot continue to live in fear and should not yield control over our lives, right now it is necessary to take every precaution to ensure that there are no more attacks in Athlone. It is not unreasonable to say that right now every woman in this town feels at risk. And it is necessary for everyone to exercise extreme caution at the moment. Women can no longer be complacent. This man is selecting poorly lit, isolated, areas where women are at their most vulnerable on their own. He is preying on women who are alone and subjecting them to violent attacks. We all empathise with these women, but for most of us we can only imagine what they have suffered. In general we tend to have the attitude that "It will never happen to me". As the five women who were subjected to such brutal, physical attacks will attest to, it does happen. It can happen to you. Hysteria will serve little purpose, but at this moment it pays to be extra cautious, if you must go walking bring a friend, your boyfriend, your husband, anybody with you. This man preys on women alone, so don"t put yourself in that vulnerable position. This man knows the town of Athlone well, he probably lives in the centre of town as experts agree that perpetrators of this kind generally live or work within a mile or two radius of the locations they choose to attack women. He could be someone you know, the Gardai are certain somebody out there knows something about this man. He possibly has a wife or girlfriend or lives with somebody who knows something. He possibly has unexplained cuts or bruises and has been behaving abnormally recently, keeping strange hours, with the majority of the attacks having taken place between the hours of 3am and 6am. If you know anything, make sure you pass it on to the Gardai, either yourself or through someone else. It only takes one lead for the Gardai to solve this crime and bring this man to justice. If you can provide them with that necessary breakthrough now is the time to speak up, before this man strikes again.