GARDAÍ ARE hopeful a blood stain found in the getaway vehicle used in the Wayne Doherty murder will formally identify a man centrally involved in the chain of events that led to the killing.
Garda sources said the men who were at the scene of the shooting in Hartstown, west Dublin, on Saturday night have “gone to ground”.
However, they said the people concerned were not major gangland figures and it was doubtful if they would have the resources to go on the run for a prolonged period.
One of the suspects is about to become a father and gardaí are hopeful this fact will result in him returning to his home, which would facilitate his arrest.
Mr Doherty (32), a married father of two, was shot in the upper body at 11.30pm on Saturday outside his parents’ home at Oakview Way. His brother and sister witnessed the attack.
His was the 16th gun murder of the year.
Gardaí believe the late-night shooting is linked to a row at a gathering in a pub in Clonee, Co Meath, earlier on Saturday.
A man known to the Doherty family became involved in a physical altercation in the pub with another man from Clonsilla, west Dublin.
The man known to the Doherty family left the pub and rang Mr Doherty saying he believed his home, which is in the vicinity of the Doherty family home in Oakview Way, was about to be attacked arising from the pub row.
He asked Mr Doherty, a former pub bouncer and an accomplished boxer, to help him.
On Saturday night two cars carrying an unknown number of men pulled into Oakview Way. At least one of the men was armed with a sawn-off shotgun. Gardaí believe these men were associates of the man from Clonsilla who had been in the pub row with the man known to the Doherty family.
Mr Doherty was outside his parents’ home at Oakview Way with his brother and sister when the two cars pulled in. He crossed the road to confront the occupants of one of the vehicles.
As he did this, one of men in the car produced a sawn-off shotgun. He fired two shots, one of which wounded Mr Doherty in the side of the upper body. The two cars then sped from the area.
An ambulance was called for Mr Doherty but he quickly lost consciousness at the scene. He was then rushed to Connolly hospital in Blanchardstown.
He was expected to survive but in the early hours of Sunday morning he continued to bleed heavily and his condition deteriorated.
He was pronounced dead shortly after 5.30am.
Gardaí investigating the murder have so far raided a number of houses in Blanchardstown and Clonsilla. They have found a pellet gun and balaclavas. A car has also been found in the Mulhuddart area.
Gardaí believe the car was used by the killer to flee the scene. They believe blood found in the car may be that of the man injured in the fight at the Clonee pub on Saturday. It is unclear if that man was at the scene of the shooting but gardaí believe he was in the getaway car at some time on Saturday night.
This man is not the suspected gunman in the Doherty murder.
The suspected gunman is from a Blanchardstown housing estate. He is known for his involvement in petty crime and gardaí suspect he is a relatively minor player in the drugs trade in west Dublin.
Gardaí are hopeful that CCTV footage recorded in and around the Clonee pub where the row took place on Saturday will help them identify a number of people whose evidence could assist the murder investigation.
Some of these people are being informally spoken to by gardaí.
A smaller number will be arrested for questioning about their alleged involvement in the shooting of Mr Doherty later on Saturday night.
