Gardaí do not believe at this time that a shootout in which a man sustained a wound in the calf was linked to the deadly Finglas feud.
Emergency services were alerted to the incident and rushed to the Lidl supermarket car park on St Margaret’s Road in Finglas, north Dublin, around 5pm.
Two men were later arrested and are being held at Finglas Garda station under Section 30 of the Offenses Act Against the State Act of 1939.
The 23-year-old victim, from Ardee, Co Louth, is being treated for non-life threatening injuries tonight.
Conclude
Garda investigators search a shopping center car park following an alleged shooting incident on St Margaret’s Road in Finglas, Dublin. Photo: Damien Storan.
He is known to Gardaí for his involvement in drug trafficking in Ardee, but so far has no known links to organized crime in the capital.
A senior source said last night the victim is believed to have been shot at a different location from where he was discovered with injuries to his lower leg.
The man’s injuries are believed to have been caused by a handgun.
A black Audi is being examined as part of the investigation.
“A man in his early 20s, believed to be originally from Co Louth, suffered non-life-threatening injuries from a gunshot wound to the leg in the incident on St Margaret’s Road just after 5pm,” Gardaí said in a statement .
The victim was taken to Mater Hospital for treatment of his injuries and the scene was examined by Garda experts.
Conclude
Garda investigators search a shopping center car park following an alleged shooting incident on St Margaret’s Road in Finglas, Dublin. Photo: Damien Storan.
Gardaí called on anyone with video from the area, including dashcam footage, to come forward.
A man working at the site said he heard a loud bang, which he initially thought was an exploding car tire from a nearby tire shop.
“I was outside. Sometimes you hear a tire explode, but then we found out it was a shootout,” he said.
He said he and his colleagues were shocked but not surprised that something like this was happening on a Friday afternoon in broad daylight.
Meanwhile, the supermarket’s manager said the incident happened across the parking lot, away from the store’s entrance, and neither staff nor customers heard anything.
Tensions in Finglas have been extremely high in recent months, with dozens of violent incidents including last month’s unsolved gun murder of mobster James Whelan.
But at “this early stage” the supermarket car park shooting tonight is not being linked to the feud, which has seen over 70 incidents.
“Gardaí will still have to remain open and determine what this individual has been doing so far from their home base if they are not connected to anyone in the area,” a source added last night.
Source: independent