GARDAÍ WERE shot at over the weekend when they chased two suspected gangland criminals whom they believe attempted to flee the scene of a gun attack at the home of a woman targeted in a case of mistaken identity. The high-speed chase took place in southwest Dublin on Saturday night.
The two men being questioned about the shootings are believed to be members of one of two crime gangs involved in a gangland feud in Dublin’s neighbouring Crumlin and Drimnagh suburbs.
The feud has cost 15 lives, either directly or indirectly, in the past 10 years. Gardaí were alerted to a shooting incident on Keeper Road, Drimnagh, at around 11.30pm on Saturday. At least one round hit the front window of the property.
Two detectives were dispatched to investigate. As they drove towards the crime scene, a black Audi car carrying the men suspected of the house shooting sped past the Garda car on the opposite side of the road.
The detectives turned their vehicle around and pursued the suspects’ car at speed. The car chase continued across southwest Dublin towards Walkinstown. At least one shot was discharged from the suspects’ car at the chasing Garda vehicle.
The men were arrested at a car park on St Peter’s Road, Walkinstown. A Walter .22 hand gun was found close by. It was thrown from the suspects’ car just before they were arrested.
One of the suspects is in his mid-20s while the other is in his early 30s. Both men were taken for questioning to Crumlin and Sundrive Road Garda stations. They are being detained under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act and can be held for up to 72 hours without charge.
The car they were travelling in and the gun found by gardaí were taken for forensic examination.
Garda sources said both arrested men are associates of the leader of one of the drug gangs involved in the Crumlin-Drimnagh feud. The gang leader is serving a number of prison sentences for drug and gun crime. A number of years ago he was also arrested with a gun after a high-speed chase during which a Garda car was fired at.
Gardaí believe the two men under arrest had gone to shoot at a house on Keeper Road on Saturday night where a member of an opposing gang lives. However, the men shot the wrong house. A woman who was at home at the time on her own was uninjured.
The attack is the latest in series of non fatal feud-related shootings at houses in Crumlin and Drimnagh in recent weeks.
The last person killed in feud-related violence was Séamus O’Byrne. The 27-year-old from Drimnagh was shot outside a house at Tymon North Park in Tallaght on March 13th. His partner was wounded as she tried to grab the gun from the killer.
O’Byrne was a member of the same gang as the men arrested on Saturday night. The feud started when one young drug dealer was accused by his associates of being a Garda informer. Two factions emerged and they have been feuding for almost 10 years.
