Gardaí are investigating if two young men in their 20s who were both shot in the legs were targeted after crossing a local crime gang.
The men, who are from north Dublin, were found wounded at Balbutcher Lane, Ballymun, at around 1am this morning.
While they have yet to give a statement to investigating gardaí, detectives working on the case believe the men were shot by a local gang as a warning or punishment attack rather than any effort to murder them.
Informed sources said that though the attack had all the hallmarks of a paramilitary punishment shooting, it is believed the men were attacked by a drugs gang rather than paramilitaries.
“Obviously when they are spoken to that might become clearer,” said one source.
However, other gardai believe the men may be too fearful to give statements, a factor that has frustrated many investigations into non-fatal shootings in recent years.
The men were taken by ambulances from the scene, one to Beaumont Hospital and the other to the Mater Hospital.
They were still undergoing medical treatment last night though their conditions are described as not life threatening.
Gardaí believe those who attacked the men used a shotgun.
The scene where the men were found was sealed off and secured immediately the victims were taken away for treatment.
It remained sealed off as a forensic examination was carried out yesterday by members of the Garda Technical Bureau.
Gardaí in Ballymun station are investigating and have appealed for anyone who saw anything suspicious in the Balbutcher Lane area between midnight and 1am yesterday, or in the hours leading up to it, or anyone with any information, to contact them in confidence at (01) 666 4400.