Updated at 4pm
A NEPHEW OF Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch has been shot dead at a flats complex on the northside of Dublin city centre.
Gareth Hutch was shot multiple times by two gunmen in the grounds of the Avondale House flats on North Cumberland Street, witnesses at the scene said. It happened at around 10am.
According to locals who spoke to TheJournal.ie at the scene, one of the assailants had his face partially covered while the other was unmasked.
Gardaí are now hoping CCTV footage from around the area will help them to identify at least one of the men responsible for the murder.
The men abandoned a car inside the flat complex, as well as a number of handguns, and ran to a waiting car on the north end of the street, which sped from the area.
Witnesses said another man, also a Hutch associate, gave chase on foot before the vehicle left the scene.
The victim was taken to the nearby Mater hospital for treatment, where he was later pronounced dead.
Gardaí have been interviewing witnesses, locals and other people who were at the scene around the time of the shooting.
The entire street has been sealed off, and a forensics team has now arrived to conduct initial examinations of the scene.
Local councillor Nial Ring, who spoke to reporters at the Garda cordon, said that the victim had been in his office yesterday, seeking to move to a more secure flat. He had been worried about the safety of his young son.
An appointment had been made for Gareth Hutch with a welfare officer this morning, Ring said, and it’s believed he may have been on his way to that meeting at the time of the attack.
“I was only speaking to Gareth yesterday, he was only in my constituency office about his accommodation and about the fact that he was in fear for his life,” the councillor said.
“His main concern was his young son, who stays with him. He didn’t want anything to happen while [the child] was in the flat.
“We did a letter together for the welfare department of the City Council with a view to getting him transferred out. He left my office and I said to him ‘look have a chat with me tomorrow after you meet the welfare officer and if we need to amend the letter’…
Then this morning we just heard that another person has been gunned down in the area.
Ring said there was a feeling of “helplessness” in the north inner city in the wake of a series of gangland related shootings.
“People are scared, genuinely scared,” he added.
The killing is the seventh in just nine months in the deadly Hutch-Kinahan feud.
So far, a number of Hutch associates have been killed, as well as David Byrne, a member of the Kinahan cartel.
Innocent father-of-three Martin O’Rourke was killed in April not far from today’s shooting.
‘Horrified and appalled’
Independent TD and recently-appointed junior minister Finian McGrath said he was “absolutely horrified and appalled” at what had happened.
“I will be speaking to the Minister for Justice today about ensuring all the resources necessary to prevent these crimes from happening again are being put in place.
I firstly want to offer my sympathy to those involved and to the local community. It is absolutely appalling this has gotten this far. We need to ensure the Gardaí have all the resources needed to take on these criminals.
The area where the shooting happened is about a two minute walk from O’Connell Street.
Gardaí are appealing for anyone who was in the area of North Cumberland Street or may have information to contact Gardaí at Mountjoy Station on 01 666 8600. Information can also be given via the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or at any Garda Station.
It’s understood the killing was discussed as part of today’s weekly cabinet meeting, with justice minister Frances Fitzgerald briefing her ministerial colleagues in the minority government.
Enda Kenny told the Dáil this afternoon he would take up an invitation to visit the North Inner City area affected by this latest outbreak of gun violence.
With reporting from Daragh Brophy, Michelle Hennessy and Paul Hosford.
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