Man and woman arrested over fatal shooting after body found

A man and a woman have been arrested in relation to the fatal shooting of a man in his 30s.

The pair, both in their mid-20s, were arrested on Sunday evening and are being held at Tallaght and Rathfarnham Garda stations under the Offences Against the State Act.

Gardaí do not believe the shooting is linked to the gangland feud between the Kinahan and Hutch gangs which has claimed seven lives in the last year.

Gardaí say they have identified the man in his 30s whose body was found on Hills Lane near Tallaght on Sunday morning.

Investigating officers could not yet release the man’s name as they were still in the process of informing relatives, but did confirm he had sustained multiple gunshot wounds during an attack on Saturday night or Sunday morning.

Supt Peter Duff said bullet cases were found at the scene, but no weapon had been recovered.

Gardaí are hoping to determine the type of weapon used after technical examinations are concluded.

Members of the Garda Technical Bureau attended the scene on Sunday, along with Deputy State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis, after a member of the public discovered the body at 9am.

A conference was held at Tallaght Garda station and a senior investigating officer was appointed.

Supt Duff said at this stage of the investigation there is “nothing to indicate it’s connected to recent killings in other parts of the city”.

He continued: “A senior investigating officer has been appointed to investigate this. A full investigation team has been assembled. What we believe so far is that sometime between 9pm (Saturday night) and 9am (Sunday) a number of gunshots were discharged at Hills Lane, and I am appealing for anyone who was in the area between 9pm and 9am to contact us here at Tallaght Garda station at 666 6000 or the Garda Confidential Line, 1800 666 111.”

In particular, gardaí are seeking anyone who was in the Hills Lane or Crooksling area between those times, or anyone who may have heard gunshots.

A postmortem is due to be carried out on the body in Tallaght Hospital on Monday morning.

Situated some 5km outside Tallaght, Hills Lane is a rural area just off the N81 Tallaght to Blessington Road.

There are a small number of houses in the vicinity where the shooting occurred, and gardaí are conducting door-to-door inquiries and are reviewing CCTV footage related to the period of interest.