The brutal daylight homicide of Aidan Mann was reportedly witnessed by a 12-year-old baby, it’s emerged.
proficient tattoo artist, Mr Mann, additionally recognized by the identify Zen Black, was stabbed to loss of life on a busy Downpatrick road at 11am on Monday.
Eyewitnesses mentioned the sufferer was stabbed with two knives in Church Road within the city, earlier than 4 males wrestled the attacker to the bottom and disarmed him.
Paramedics labored in useless to save lots of Mr Mann because the attacker was restrained on the bottom a matter of toes away.
The sufferer was pronounced lifeless on the scene.
The assault was witnessed by quite a few horrified bystanders, together with a younger schoolboy.
The kid’s mom posted on-line that the assault was seen by her younger baby.
She added that her ideas had been with the sufferer’s household and mates “at this very unhappy time”.
It was the second stabbing within the city in lower than 48 hours. A girl aged in her 20s was stabbed within the leg in Downpatrick in the course of the early hours of Saturday morning.
At this stage, it isn’t believed that police are linking the 2 incidents.
Mr Mann had labored in quite a few tattoo parlours since leaving college and was one in every of Northern Eire’s most sought-after artists on the time of his loss of life, with shoppers travelling from throughout Eire to avail of his work.
He specialised in Irezumi, the artwork of Japanese hand tattooing, his enterprise Fb web page below the identify Zen Black, shows dozens of intricate works of tattoo artwork carried out by Mr Mann.
He had been working at Sailors and Scoundrels Tattoo Parlour in Newtownards on the time of his loss of life.
On Christmas day, he posted on Instagram that he had a “fairly wonderful” dinner and loved it with “nice firm”.
His final put up on social media was the day earlier than his homicide when he posted photos of recent tattoo designs he had been engaged on.
The favored Newtownards tattoo parlour was closed on Tuesday because the employees got here to grips with the lack of their colleague.
Colleagues posted an emotional tribute on social media.
The Fb put up from the tattoo artist Lulu mentioned: “There’s no simple strategy to write this standing and I actually want I didn’t must. However sadly, as we speak the world misplaced among the finest artists and human beings I do know.
“I’ve labored with Aidan/ Zen in three completely different studios, and I’ve seen him develop a lot via the years, I’ve seemed as much as him and he’s mentored me and everybody else within the studio.
“I’ll always remember all he’s taught me. He wasn’t simply an artist on the studio, he was my finest good friend and a member of our household.
“It’s gonna be arduous to tattoo with out him beside me blaring My Chemical Romance each day.
“I really like you dude and I want you had been nonetheless right here and we may sit ingesting beer and rewatching ink grasp on repeat.
“I actually hope you discover peace.”
There have been lots of of feedback from individuals who had been tattooed by Mr Mann.
Stephen Brown mentioned: “I am completely gutted to listen to this. Aidan/Zen has been my tattooist since Philosophink and I’ve adopted him round like a tattooed pet canine.
“Nobody else has been allowed to do something on my sleeve bar him.
“Every session I had with him I used to be at all times left mesmerised how he understood what I needed every bit to seem like. I at all times gave him inventive management, and by no means feared with what he would translate my temporary directions to be.
“The world has misplaced a really gifted artist and I ship my love and ideas to his family and friends. Relaxation simple buddy”.
Emma Nicholl mentioned: “Devastated to listen to the information. A really real, distinctive and proficient man, I’ll treasure the artwork he added to me.
“Ideas are along with his household and mates.”
Steve McAleese added: “What a loss to this merciless, merciless world. This man was an absolute legend, at all times had time to speak and have an incredible snort.
“He may flip essentially the most fundamental of concepts into completely spectacular items and did many instances for me. The items imply the world to me and will likely be treasured a lot extra now.
“Relaxation peacefully massive man, you can be missed.”
Hazel Newell mentioned: “So unhappy. I met Aidan a number of years in the past and he’s achieved three stunning tattoos for me, I spent a number of hours with him in November as he up to date an previous piece and created a stupendous hummingbird on my wrist.
“We laughed and chatted all afternoon. He was a proficient artist and such a beautiful man.”
A person stays in custody being questioned in reference to the assault on Mr Mann.
The suspect can be regarded as from Downpatrick.
Detectives from the PSNI’s Main Investigations Crew have appealed for info.
Detective Chief Inspector, John Caldwell, mentioned: “We imagine that the person was stabbed within the Church Road space of the city round 11am on Monday. Sadly, he was pronounced lifeless on the scene.
“Now we have arrested a person in his 30s on suspicion of homicide and he stays in custody at the moment. I’d enchantment to anybody with info which may help in our investigation or who could have dashcam footage to contact us on 101 quoting reference quantity 497 of 03/01/22”.
