BREAKING: Gardaí identify three girls as suspects in Kym Owens attack

Weeks after teenage student Kym Owens was violently assaulted in Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Gardaí have reportedly identified three girls as suspects for the vicious assault.  The Bachelor of Arts student from Castleblayney in Co Monaghan remains in "serious" but stable condition in the intensive care unit of Connolly Hospital in Dublin, where she has been in an induced coma and being treated for injuries that include broken eye sockets, a broken nose and a broken jaw. The 18-year-old lost several teeth in the attack, which occurred at approximately 8.30pm on Sunday, November 20 after she got off a bus near her digs in the Moyglare Abbey, Co. Kildare. Ms. Owens was discovered lying unconscious on a footpath and received medical assistance at the scene before emergency services arrived. Gardaí say she was not sexually assaulted and none of her belongings appear to have been stolen. While investigators were initially on the hunt for a male perpetrator, the Irish Independent is reporting the attackers may be female.

"Three young females are being investigated for the attack, and it is hoped that they will be interviewed in the coming days," a source told the newspaper.

Foggy conditions on the night are hampering efforts to identify any individuals captured on CCTV footage. Gardai are appealing in particular to any person on the bus. any person in the vicinity of Maynooth Village/Moyglare Abbey Estate between 7pm and 9pm on Sunday night or any person who noticed anything unusual, in particular any person with staining on their clothes or perhaps in an agitated state, to contact them at Leixlip Garda Station on 01 6667800, The Garda Confidential Line, 1800 666111 or any Garda station.