A man has been arrested after he was found with a suspected handgun and a can of petrol in his car in Cork city in the early hours of this morning.
The man, who is in his early 40s and from Cork city, was arrested by gardaí from Gurranebraher backed up by members of the Armed Support Unit in the Knocknaheeny/Hollyhill area of Cork's northside at about 1.30am.
Gardaí were alerted when locals in the area noticed a car acting suspiciously and they contacted gardaí at Gurranebraher Garda Station.
Gardaí found what they believe is a handgun and a magazine of bullets in the car, along with a jerry can of petrol, which they believe could have been used to burn out the car if the man had carried out a shooting.
Officers arrested the man at the scene and he was taken to Mayfield Garda Station, where he is being held under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act which allows gardaí detain suspects for up to 72 hours.
Gardaí have sent the handgun and ammunition to Dublin for analysis by gardaí at the ballistics section at Garda Headquarters to see if it is a viable firearm and to try and establish if it was used in the commission of any previous offences.
Gardaí do not believe the incident is linked to any dissident republican activity in Cork, but are otherwise keeping an open mind on what the motive was for the man travelling to Knocknaheeny/Hollyhill with a gun and ammunition.
There are a number of feuds in Cork at the moment in which shots have been fired – one where shots were fired at a house in Mayfield on March 16th and one where shots were fired in a house in Mahon on March 17th.
The two feuds are unrelated and gardaí are investigating whether this latest incident is linked to one of these disputes, or is unrelated to either but is part of yet another separate dispute.
Det Supt Mick Comyns commended the local community in Knocknaheeny and Hollyhill for the vigilance in spotting the car acting suspiciously in the area and reporting it immediately to gardaí in Gurranebraher.
“I want to thank the members of the public who rang us when they spotted something they didn’t think was normal – they are to be commended for their actions and as a result, we have possibly saved a life here today,” he said.
