A MAN WAS arrested after robbing a shop, crashing his getaway car, firing a gun at concerned passersby, hijacking another car only to crash that vehicle and end up in hospital.
The incident took place shortly after midnight this morning at the Emo service station in Mountrath in Laois.
A man entered the shop with his face covered and demanded cash. He managed to crash the car he arrived in outside a house close to the filling station. The people living in the house came out to check if the driver of the car was alright. At that point, he fired a gun and robbed a car from the house.
As he attempted to make his getaway for the second time, he crashed that car into a tree.
Gardaí arrived on the scene and the man was arrested and brought to the Midland Regional Hospital at Tullamore for treatment to injuries he sustained in the crash.
Gardaí discovered a gun as they searched the area. A number of crime scenes have been preserved and gardaí are continuing their investigations.
A garda spokesman said: “The incident occurred at around 12.35am following an armed robbery at a filling station in Mountrath when the suspect crashed his car outside a house in Derrykearn.
When the occupants of the house checked the well being of the driver a firearm was discharged. The suspect fled in a car stolen from the occupants of the house. He then collided with a tree approx. 1.5km from the original collision. The suspect was removed to Tullamore General hospital where he is described as being in a serious condition.
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