Gareth Hutch killed just 300 metres from Garda checkpoint

The latest victim of the Hutch-Kinahan feud was shot dead just 300 metres from a Garda checkpoint.

Gareth Hutch (35) was shot by two men who approached him as he was getting into his black Volkswagen Passat car just before 10am on Tuesday morning.

The shooting was perpetrated in the car park of Avondale House, North Cumberland Street, where Mr Hutch lived.

It happened despite intense Garda surveillance in the area and a checkpoint at Mountjoy Square nearby.

After the killing, the two men got into a black BMW car, registration 02D 39051, parked nearby, but it appears not to have started so the killers fled on foot. They turned left onto North Cumberland Street and then on to Sean MacDiarmada Street.

The car is now part of the Garda investigation. Gardaí have appealed for anybody with information on its movements in recent days to come forward.

Red hoodie

One of the men wore a red top or a red hoodie; the other wore a grey-coloured top. Gardaí also recovered two handguns from the scene.

At a press conference in Store Street Garda station, Supt Dan Flavin appealed for anybody in the area who might have caught the killers on camera-phone footage to submit it to them.

Gardaí are investigating reports the killers were pursued by some of Mr Hutch’s relatives as they fled.

Assistant Commissioner Jack Nolan described the killings as an "outrageous event" and "extremely worrying for An Garda Síochána".

He defended the use of checkpoints and said they would continue to be deployed despite not being a deterrent to the criminals who killed Mr Hutch.

He also outlined the measures gardaí have taken to date in attempting to curb the spiral of gang feud killings.

There have been 3,000 Garda checkpoints and 1,800 street searches for intelligence to date in connection with the feud, he told the press conference.

Search operations have been carried out and €1 million worth of property has been recovered. There have been 13 arrests and 17 firearms recovered. Four men remain in custody and one has been charged with murder, he pointed out.

Source of concern

He admitted the resources available to the gang who carried out the murder were a source of concern to gardaí.

In response to claims that Mr Hutch feared for his life before he was murdered, he said gardaí provide security advice to those at risk, but cautioned: "An Garda Síochána cannot be everywhere."

Mr Nolan said there was an international dimension to the investigation, given that the head of the Kinahan family, Christy Kinahan, had his operations in Spain.

“There is no question of any diminution of An Garda Síochána’s response to this. I want to assure the community of Dublin city that we will spare no effort until everybody involved in these outrageous events are brought to justice.

“There has been a lot of co-operation and collaboration with our colleagues on a European-wide basis. We said at the start of this that, given the capability and calibre of the people involved, it would not be a speedy or short investigation.

“The results of that painstaking investigation is coming to fruition. We now have another investigation. That will open other lines of inquiry, and those lines of inquiry will be actively pursued.”

In response to suggestions that gardaí had not made enough arrests of those associated with the Kinahan gang, Mr Nolan pointed out that an associate of the cartel was in custody in Store Street Garda station in relation to the killing of Michael Barr, who was shot dead at the Sunset Pub on April 25th.