Updated 6.00pm
GARDAÍ HAVE LAUNCHED a murder investigation following the shooting dead of a man in the north Dublin suburb of Drumcondra this morning.
The victim’s car was rammed by another car, before two gunmen got out of it and opened fire. The attackers later crashed their car, and ran off on foot.
“This morning, at approximately half eleven, we received a call that a number of shots had been fired in the area,” Superintendent Finbarr Murphy, who is leading the investigation, said from the scene.
We immediately dispatched uniformed and armed patrol.
“On arrival there was a Volkswagen Passat with a driver behind the wheel and he had been shot. He was pronounced dead at the scene.”
“The scene was Church Avenue in Drumcondra. We believe he had left his house shortly before that.”
“Following on from that, there was a car which two of the assailants abandoned.
It crashed into a wall. They abandoned it and set it on fire and they fled the scene on foot.
Both men had been wearing balaclavas, Murphy said. One was wearing a grey jacket, and the other a dark jacket.
They ran through Grace Park Road down towards Tolka Park.
The shooting took place beside the Cat and Cage Pub on Church Avenue. At least four Garda cordons were put in place along the quiet residential streets behind All Hallows College in the aftermath.
Locals reported hearing “five or six” gunshots, and were told to stay in their homes.
The burnt-out car which had been used by the gunmen was later removed from the area on the back of a truck.
It’s understood the man who was shot dead had links to organised crime.
There are unconfirmed reports that another person was hospitalised in the attack.
Local Fine Gael councillor Noel Rock spoke to reporters at the scene and said such gun violence was very unusual for the area.
From talking to people today they’ve given me a great sense that they’re, I suppose, quite upset, quite distressed and quite concerned about the whole thing. Hearing four or five gunshots from your house is never pleasant.
One resident reported hearing the garda helicopter overhead after the shooting.
I was shocked when I heard there was a shooting, it’s terrible that people do these things. It’s a quiet area but it can happen anywhere really.
https://vine.co/v/O3HIWXIwErJ
Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern – who grew up on the road and still lives nearby – visited the scene later this afternoon.
- Additional reporting Rónán Duffy and Daragh Brophy.
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