An internal Garda investigation is under way into the shooting dead by members of the force of two men, one of whom was unarmed, as they tried to rob a post office in Lusk, Co Dublin, early yesterday. Conor Lally and Alison Healy report.
Amnesty International last night called for an independent investigation into the shootings, saying it needed to be established that gardaí had done everything possible to avoid shooting the men. It said the incident highlighted the need for a Garda ombudsman.
Supt Kevin Ludlow of Cork city division was immediately appointed yesterday to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shootings of Colm Griffin (33) and Eric Hopkins (24), both from Dublin's north inner city. Griffin was a drug dealer and armed robber while Hopkins was also known to gardaí.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Minister for Justice Michael McDowell both made statements in support of the Garda yesterday.
Mr Ahern urged the public not be "weak-kneed" when gardaí responded to serious crime. Mr McDowell, who is in the US with the Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy, described as a "deadly menace" the activities of armed gangs.
Gardaí said yesterday they were conducting an ongoing operation in the area at the time of the attempted armed robbery. They had received information that a robbery on the post office might be imminent and members of the ERU, the Emergency Response Unit, and local gardaí from the Meath-Louth division were waiting on the gang when they arrived at about 8am.
The Garda helicopter was on standby in the event of a high-speed chase and a number of Garda cars were waiting on approach roads to and from Lusk.
Senior Garda sources told The Irish Times they expected the gang to run into the post office through the front door and it was planned to apprehend them at the entrance.
However, the same sources said the gang opted to drive around to the back of the shop in their stolen vehicle and enter through the rear of the building.
When this happened, ERU officers ran from a camper van where they were hiding outside the building into the post office. When they reached the back of the shop, one of the raiders was attempting to break the bullet-proof glass at the post office pay hatch with a sledgehammer.
A number of staff were in the post office and shop at the time. There was a substantial amount of cash in the post office, much of which was for social welfare payments due to be paid yesterday and today.
Senior Garda sources claimed last night that one member of the ERU opened fire on the two men after one of them threatened him with a fully loaded semi-automatic handgun. The second raider was fatally wounded as he attempted to rush at or confront the armed ERU officer. Garda sources said they were satisfied the raiders had not discharged their weapon but a technical examination would be needed to confirm this. The shooting and the events leading up to it were captured on CCTV footage inside the shop in Lusk village where the post office is situated.
Gardaí claimed the man brandishing the firearm was warned repeatedly to drop it. They said he refused and threatened gardaí with the gun, at which point he was shot.
It is understood both men were wounded in the upper body with 9mm bullets from a Sig Sauer automatic handgun. One of the men died at the scene while the other was rushed to Beaumont hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Two other men were arrested at the post office and a third was arrested a short distance away. A woman from the Lusk area was also later detained by gardaí.
All four were being held at different Garda stations on the north side of Dublin last night under section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act and can be held without charge for 72 hours. The scene was cordoned off and members of the Garda Technical Bureau carried out a full examination.