Gardaí have intercepted a man they believe may have been on his way to carry out a shooting linked to the Kinahan-Hutch feud.
Armed gardaí from the Special Crime Task Force attempted to stop a van which failed to stop on Kylemore Way Road, Inchicore, at about 3pm on Wednesday.
Gardaí then rammed the van and stopped it.
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A number of shots were fired by gardaí during the operation.
A gun and a silencer were recovered from the van and a man in his 20s was arrested.
A second vehicle thought to be involved in the incident fled from the scene.
Two neighbours who witnessed the shooting who said they did not wish to be named due to fears of retaliation from Kinahan associates said neighbours in the area were “shocked” at the incident.
“I was standing in my garden waiting on a delivery van to arrive and then all hell broke loose.
“It’s just mad. It took me a while to cop what was going on. I thought it was just a row –then I heard five shots,” he said.
The other neighbour said: “I seen it all, I was standing in my garden and this chap in a grey tracksuit came running down the street with the police chasing after him.
“He tried to get into a silver jeep and two police men caught him. The other two police men tried to break the glass in the car window but they couldn’t break it.
“The man reversed into another car on the street and drove out so then the police man took out his gun and started shooting. There was five shots. I was gobsmacked,” he said.
“I’m not afraid to be living here- this kind of thing could happen anywhere. It’s just that it happened in the afternoon when there could well have been kids in the area coming home from school,” he said.
A man walking his daughter home from school who did not wished to be named said it was “terrifying” to think the Kinahan feud appeared to be escalating again.
“Jamestown road is a quiet area and good decent people who have nothing to do with crime live round here.
“Parents and kids were walking around here when it happened so it’s scary to think we might have been caught in the crossfire,” he said.
A Garda spokesman said there were no injuries.
The arrested man is being held under Section 30 for the Offences against the State Act, 1939 at Ballyfermot Garda station. As of Thursday morning, he was still in custody.
The scene has been preserved for forensic examination.
As with all incidents where a Garda firearm is discharged, the Garda Ombudsman Commission has been notified.
