A man is being questioned by gardaí about a murder in Dublin at the weekend after he walked into a Garda station yesterday and surrendered himself.
A second man was also in custody in Co Tipperary last night in connection with the fatal stabbing of a foreign national in Nenagh on Sunday.
The man in custody in Dublin is from Finglas and is suspected of involvement in the shooting on Sunday of Kevin Ledwidge. Mr Ledwidge (28) was gunned down by his attacker who called to his home on Ratoath Drive, Finglas, at 9.30am.
The killer opened fire with a sawn-off shotgun at point-blank range, fatally wounding Mr Ledwidge in the chest before fleeing to a waiting getaway car.
However, gardaí believe the attack was a "spur-of-the-moment" killing and that it was not well planned. Neither the gunman nor the getaway driver wore balaclavas.
The gunman ran from the murder scene to a waiting grey Opel Vectra. He was driven away at speed by an accomplice. However, after the the car crashed a short time later the two men abandoned it on Ratoath Avenue and fled the area on foot.
A number of people saw them running away and were able to give gardaí detailed descriptions. Gardaí immediately identified the two men and have been looking for them since.
Detectives raided a large number of properties in Finglas but while they seized drugs and guns, including a MAC-10 machine pistol and shotgun, the two attackers evaded capture.
However, after three days on the run, one of the suspects walked into Finglas Garda station at about 2.30pm yesterday and surrendered himself for questioning.
He was arrested under section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act and can be held for questioning for up to 72 hours without charge.
Informed Garda sources say they are satisfied the man was embroiled in a localised row with Mr Ledwidge which gardaí believe is directly linked to Sunday's shooting. The killing was not drug-related and was in no way linked to organised crime.
Garda sources are hopeful that forensic evidence from the getaway car used in the incident, as well as identification evidence from members of the public, could prove vital in solving the killing.
The search, meanwhile, is continuing for the second man whom gardaí believe was involved in the fatal gun attack.
Elsewhere, gardaí investigating the fatal stabbing of a 30-year-old Ukrainian man in Co Tipperary, were questioning another foreign national, who is in his 50s.
The dead man and the suspect were among a group of foreign nationals at a house party in the Coachyard area of Nenagh when a fight broke out between 1.30am and 1.45am. The victim was stabbed a number of times and died from his injuries.
The man who was being held last night also suffered injuries during the fight. He was treated in hospital but he was deemed to be well enough yesterday to be arrested and questioned.
