Man arrested after gardaí threatened with replica firearm

A man has been arrested after pointing a replica firearm at gardaí and members of the public in the early hours of this morning.

Gardaí were called to the Greencastle Road, Coolock, Dublin, at about 2.30am after receiving a report that a man in the area was in possession of a suspicious device.

When they arrived at the scene the man, who is in his 20s, threatened gardaí and members of the public with what proved to be a replica firearm.

Armed members of the force attended the scene and discharged one shot during the incident, in which nobody was injured.

The man was arrested and the firearm was seized. He is being detained under Section 30 of the Offences against the State Act, 1939, at Coolock Garda station.

The area was sealed off for a technical examination and the Garda Ombudsman Commission was notified following the discharge of the firearm by a member of the force.

A spokesman for the commission said it had been notified of the incident but the matter was not being investigated.