Residents of a south Dublin flats complex fear more violence after a masked gunman, accompanied by other masked men, fired warning shots on the estate for the second time in 48 hours.
Although the two incidents in Fatima Mansions had all the appearance of vigilante activity against drug dealers, senior gardai believe they are part of a turf war over control of the heroin trade in the complex.
Around midnight on Monday night five men wearing balaclavas walked into an area between two of the blocks of flats. Two of the men separated from the group and remained around a corner while the remaining three walked into the middle of the yard between the blocks, according to residents. A weapon, believed to be a handgun, was fired in the air. One resident said there were nine shots.
The attack appeared to be a repeat of a similar incident on Saturday night when three masked men walked into the same area of the flat complex around midnight and fired a number of shots. Ballistic evidence of a handgun being fired was recovered.
A senior garda source said the men were known to gardai and are believed to be engaged in a potentially-violent turf war.
According to residents one of the men shouted that there would be "no more drugs in the flats after Monday," during Saturday's attack.
"They were putting the frighteners on people," one resident said yesterday. "I'd say someone's gonna get hurt the next time."
A woman resident said her children had been terrified by both attacks. She said she was already frightened to let them play outside the flat because of drug dealing in the complex. Used syringes regularly litter the pavement and grassy areas.
Other residents welcomed what had happened believing that vigilantes were cracking down on drug dealing. "It's about time someone did something about the situation here," one woman said.
Fatima Mansions is one of the flat complexes worst affected by heroin. Along with nearby St Theresa's Gardens and St Michael's Estate, Fatima has seen continued problems with heroin dealing which has been pushed into the estates as city-centre communities targeted dealers with marches and street vigils. A number of elderly residents have been frightened out of the area.
Gardai believe that dealers moved into the complexes in large numbers. One woman said yesterday she had seen a girl in a school uniform "buying gear" in daylight two weeks ago.
