Woman arrested in connection with shooting in which two adults and baby boy were injured

A WOMAN HAS been arrested in connection with the shooting yesterday in west Dublin in which two adults and a baby were injured.

Gardaí investigating the shooting yesterday in Parslickstown, Mulhuddart, arrested a woman in the Wicklow area in connection with the incident.

A man arrested yesterday is still in custody.

Earlier, Pavee Point called for calm after a baby, his mother and teenage uncle were shot by pellets in the shooting at a house in Mulhuddart, west Dublin.

Yesterday afternoon, the Collins family were putting up their tree at a house at Parlickstown Green in Mulhuddart when “tensions erupted” and a man fired shots at them.

Eight-month-old John Collins, his mother Lynn Doyle (29) and teenage uncle Matthew Collins were all injured during the incident.

Tragic incident

Martin Collins, spokesperson for Pavee Point, told Morning Ireland that it was a tragic incident and had the potential for multiple lives to be lost. He said Pavee Point wishes the victims a speedy recovery.

Collins said he understood the source of row was a relationship breakdown between a young Traveller girl and a young Traveller boy. He understood there were various attempts over months and years to find a resolution through mediation, but they didn’t succeed.

Collins said that while people were aware there were tensions, nobody expected it would escalate to this level “where it would seem the shooting was very indiscriminate and there was potential for multiple lives to be lost”.

He continued:

It really is important that we all call for calm, and be very careful that we don’t say or do something that potentially could further inflame the situation.

Conflict and violence is not inevitable, it is entirely preventable, and there are people out there, there are agencies and people who specialise in conflict resolution.

He said that the situation could escalate if a resolution isn’t found.

Collins encouraged the people involved to find a civilised resolution to what is happening. He also said that a police presence following such an incident is really important to try and contain the situation.

Catherine Joyce, manager from the Blanchardstown Traveller Development Group told Morning Ireland that the group is willing to help in the resolution process.

“It is very tragic that this incident has happened and it has blown up at this particular time of year when these families are getting ready for Christmas,” she said.

“The reality is gun crime is a problem in this country, and it doesn’t matter whether it is  Travellers or settled people involved in it, it needs to be dealt with and it needs to be dealt with by the guards and not individuals.”

She said that the organisation is willing to work with the guards and the families involved in this dispute after things calm down a little bit, and that they are asking the families to make sure there is not an escalation or retaliation after yesterday’s incident.

The family are known to Blanchardstown Traveller Development Group and have used their services. It is not a “feud in the traditional sense” and involves members of the same family, said Joyce.

She said community groups along with the guards and other services have a role in ensuring information and support is given to the families.

She said that local authorities also have a role. “If one of these families could have been moved off this site a year or two years ago, it would have prevented this issue from happening,” she said.

Some of the family members moved off the site but then moved back as they didn’t move to an area under Fingal County Council and so lost their right to accommodation.

“The reality is it’s no more shocking than when a baby was involved in the incident in Ballymun a few weeks ago,” she said.

Gun crime “is a problem and the guards need to deal with this”, said Joyce.

Speaking to reporters yesterday in the area of Parlickstown, Arthur Collins – the grandfather of the baby who was shot – said he was devastated by what had happened.

“I’ve never seen nothing like it in my life for to shoot a… baby child,” he said.

The woman arrested is being detained under the provisions of section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act 1939 as amended at a Dublin garda station.

Anyone who was in the vicinity of Parlickstown at around 12pm that witnessed a car driving at high-speed, or that witnessed suspicious behaviour is asked to contact Blanchardstown Garda Station on 666 7000.

With reporting from Cormac Fitzgerald

Read: ’This is a very volatile situation’: Baby and teenager injured in west Dublin shooting>