A bird dropped something gruesome on an elementary school playground in Ireland

Birds are known to collect and drop unusual objects, but sometimes, their discoveries are more unsettling than a shiny trinket or a discarded scrap. That was the grim reality in an Irish schoolyard where authorities recently responded to the discovery of a severed hand.

Gardai — Ireland’s national police service — are investigating an incident that occurred on Feb. 21 at Our Lady Immaculate School in Darndale, a suburb north of Dublin, where the hand was discovered. CCTV footage revealed that a bird dropped the hand at approximately 10:30am that day, and the Gardai were called to the scene for “the discovery of partial human remains.” Upon arrival, the area was closed off for examination, with authorities looking for clues and documenting the scene before collecting the hand for forensic analysis. Fortunately, the students were away on their mid-term break, sparing them from witnessing the gruesome discovery.

Locals were shaken not just by the shocking find but also by fears of a connection to a previous crime. In Jan. 2020, 17-year-old Keane Mulready-Woods was reported missing by his mother. It was later found out that he was murdered and dismembered, with his body parts placed in bags and left in several different places around north Dublin. Authorities believed his death was a gang-related killing, connected to a feud between two criminal gangs in the town of Drogheda. His killers, 27-year-old Paul Crosby and 49-year-old Gerard Cruise, eventually confessed to the crime.

As of now, the Gardai believe that the discovery doesn’t have anything to do with gang crimes, saying that there were no clues that foul play was involved. However, they have a theory about what may have occurred. A day before the discovery, a 12-year-old boy was rushed to the hospital after sustaining severe injuries to his hand due to the explosion of a gas canister. According to reports, the boy was at a bonfire handling a can of nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, when the accident happened. He lost part of his hand in the explosion and is currently being treated at Mater Hospital for severe injuries.

Authorities are looking into the possibility that the severed hand belonged to the boy because of the “proximity in both time and location” of the incidents, as well as the injuries seen on the severed hand. A bird may have collected the hand after the accident and dropped it in the grounds of the school. Despite the strong possibility, the Gardai are keeping an open mind and checking all avenues. As part of the investigation, they will also be looking into missing person records.

The hand will be examined by Forensic Science Ireland, where experts will conduct a DNA analysis to determine who the hand belongs to. The Gardai have also requested a DNA sample from the boy injured at the bonfire to see if there is a possible match. However, until forensic findings are available, authorities cannot confirm any details. The results will be crucial in uncovering the truth behind the disturbing discovery and whether or not it is linked to other cases.