A chief suspect has been identified for an attack on a Garda member’s home last year and is expected to be charged.
The incident took place last summer when the garda was attending the Donegal International Rally with a modified car in Garda livery. He had proposed modifying the vehicle to bring to rallies as a project designed to foster relations with young car and motorsport enthusiasts.
His and his colleagues’ presence at the rally was widely publicised on social media.
Gardaí suspect the attackers saw on social media that Garda Christopher Lynch was in Donegal at the time with the Volkswagen Golf 2.0-litre, 295bhp, 4wd car, which had been seized during a drug raid and decked out in Garda livery for use in an outreach project.
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A decorative boulder was thrown through the livingroom window, causing damage to the inside and outside of the house. The garda’s wife and young children were inside at the time.
Garda Lynch, a car enthusiast, was deployed to Donegal as he has been a key Garda member promoting Operation Nexus, which seeks to reach younger drivers with an interest in motorsport, with a view to improving road safety.
Garda sources said at the time the visit to the rally had gone very well. The majority of social media content around Garda Lynch and a colleague being there with the vehicle was positive as they engaged with a large number of young drivers.
However, other content struck a more negative tone and appeared to focus on Garda Lynch’s work with the Delvin roads policing unit. That work has, at times, necessitated the seizure of modified vehicles from young drivers on safety grounds.
The attack on his family home was captured on CCTV, with the footage recording both the criminal damage attack and the vehicle used by the men responsible.
The attack last June was investigated by local gardaí and specialist units. Gardaí reviewed the CCTV footage that was recorded close to the scene and at nearby locations. Suspects were identified and searches undertaken by the investigating gardaí, with one man now facing charges in relation to the incident.
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