A man shot and wounded in the legs in the latest gun attack in Dublin was shot in the head two years ago.
In the latest incident on Tuesday night, the man was approached by a lone gunman on Shancastle Park, Clondalkin, west Dublin, at about 8.45pm and singled out for attack.
A number of shots were discharged, wounding the victim in the legs. The gunman then ran away.
The injured man, who is in his early 20s, was initially treated by an ambulance crew at the scene of the shooting but was later transferred to Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown.
His injuries were described as “serious but non-life threatening” by gardaí.
A major Garda investigation commenced immediately and three suspects were in custody early on Wednesday following their arrests in connection with the attack.
A man in his late teens was being questioned at Ronanstown Garda station and two men in their 20s were being questioned at Lucan Garda station.
All three suspects were being held under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act which allows gardaí questioned them for up to 72 hours without charge.
Appeal
“Gardaí are continuing to appeal for anyone with information in relation to this incident to come forward, particular any road users with camera footage who were travelling in the area at the time,” Garda Headquarters said in a statement early on Wednesday.
The wounded man is known to gardaí and detectives investigating the attack on him are focussed on what they believe was a localised dispute between the injured man and criminals from the Clondalkin area.
Two years ago the victim of the attack was lucky to survive when he was wounded in the head in another gun attack.
That shooting in 2017 was believed to have been carried out by an organised crime gang that had clashed with a number of teenagers from the Clondalkin area.
The man shot in the head two years ago and shot in the legs on Tuesday night was also close friends with a number of men shot dead in a feud in the Clondalkin area.
Gardaí have not ruled out the possibility the latest attack is link to that feud, which has so far cost four lives, but also believe Tuesday night’s attack could be linked to a much lower level localised dispute
Clondalkin fued
In August 2013, the Clondalkin feud claimed the life of Dean Johnson (21), Greenfort Lawns, Clondalkin. He was shot dead on Harelawn Green by a killer intending to target a senior drug dealer but who killed the wrong person in a case of mistaken identity.
Five days later Jason Carroll (39) was shot as he tried to run to the safety of his nearby home on Cherrywood Drive – a revenge attack for the botched attempt on the life of the senior drug dealer, who has since been jailed
In September, 2017, Darragh Nugent (36) was shot dead outside his home on Wheatfield Avenue in Clondalkin.
A week later his close associate John Gibson, a father of two from Lucan, Co Dublin, was shot dead on Fortunestown Lane in Tallaght.
The man shot in Clondalkin last night was a friend of both Darragh Nugent and John Gibson.
