GARDAÍ INVESTIGATING a shooting incident in Limerick in which a six-year-old girl was injured believe the attack is linked to a new feud in the city.
The victim was playing on the street in the Lilac Court estate, Southill, at about 3pm on Saturday when she was caught up in the shooting.
Shots were discharged from what gardaí believe was a pump action shotgun. The intended target was not wounded in the attack. However, pellets from the shots wounded the six-year-old in the legs. The shooting took place at the junction of Southill and Collins Avenue.
Two vehicles were used in the attack and gardaí believe a well-known Limerick gang member was attempting to shoot another man with whom he is in dispute.
The six-year-old was treated for her injuries at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Dooradoyle but she was later discharged after being examined by doctors.
"It is shocking and it is hard to believe that this could happen on a sunny afternoon, but it could have been a lot worse," said one local resident.
Saturday's shooting is not part of the main Limerick feud, in which members of the McCarthy-Dundon gang and their associates are in dispute with the Keane gang and their allies.
However, gardaí are working on the theory that a leading member of the McCarthy-Dundon gang was behind Saturday's shooting. The incident is believed to be linked to a number of serious gun attacks earlier this year.
Some months ago as a fresh feud was beginning in Limerick between two families gardaí called both sides to a meeting and managed to end the fighting.
Members of the McCarthy-Dundon gang were unhappy with the development because they believed the ending of the other feud would mean more Garda resources would be available to investigate them.
They decided they would try and reignite the resolved feud by shooting a member of one of the families who had brokered a peace deal. They believed the associates of the man they were to shoot would blame the other family and the feud would start again. The target escaped after the gunman's weapon jammed.
In a search of a derelict house on Saturday night gardaí found a pump action shotgun and a number of cartridges. They are working on the theory that the weapon was the one used in Saturday's attack.
In recent years a number of young children have been caught up in serious violence in Limerick.
In September 2006, Millie Murray (6) and her brother Gavin (4) suffered extensive burns when their mother's car was petrol-bombed in Moyross. In November of the same year Jordan Crawford (5) was shot outside his family home in O'Malley Park, Southill.
