A MAN is expected to appear in Dublin District Court this morning in connection with a fatal shooting in Ballymun. A second man who was also being questioned about the death was released last night and a file was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
One man was arrested at the scene of the shooting at about 9.30 p.m. on Saturday, and the other nearby a short time later.
Mr Anthony Lynch (42), was shot in the head in the doorway of his home at Willow Park Road, which runs between Glasnevin Avenue and Poppintree Park in Ballymun.
Two young men called to the house shortly before 9.30 p.m. and held a handgun, believed to have been a .22 pistol, to Mr Lynch's head. The gun was fired once.
An ambulance was called and Mr Lynch was taken to the Mater Hospital, where he died shortly afterwards.
One person who attended to the victim as he lay dying said his only wound appeared to be a small hole above his lip.
At the time of the shooting there was a large number of children playing on the road. Adults in nearby houses heard the shot and looked out.
A man was seen running from the house down Willow Park Road, being chased by local men.
A man ran into Willow Park Close but discovered it was a cul de sac. He was tackled and brought to the ground by the local men and two gardai who arrived in an unmarked car.
Children on the road yesterday said they had seen a man running and holding a gun under his jumper, and that he pulled it out just before being overpowered.
One woman said her son had told her he was threatened by the gunman. "He said the man had shouted at them: `keep back, I've got a gun'," she said.
Another woman said the man appeared to have difficulty running and looked "spaced out. He must have been on something."
Asked if the Garda had some advance knowledge that a shooting was about to take place in the area, a Garda source said: "Definitely not."
Garda headquarters said the unmarked Garda car with two gardai happened to be nearby when the shooting took place, and the two gardai were able to arrest a suspected gunman.
A second man was arrested in Ballymun area at about 10 p.m.
It was not clear yesterday whether it had been intended to kill the victim. However, gardai indicated they did not consider the incident fell into the "gangland shooting" category.
It may be that the two men who called to the door intended only to frighten Mr Lynch by holding the gun to his head. The bullet appears to have entered hiss head between his nose and upper lip.
That a small calibre weapon appears to have been used and that the attackers had no escape plan, suggests they may not have intended to fire the weapon.
Mr Lynch was married with six children and worked at the Cadbury chocolate factory in Coolock.
His death brings to 22 the number of killings in the State so far this year, compared with 43 for the whole of 1995.
Yesterday detectives were examining the crime scene, and in particular the front garden of a house on the corner of Willow Park Road and Willow Park Close, past which the suspected gunman ran before being apprehended.
Four detectives combed the grass and hedge. The search is believed to have yielded .22 ammunition.
The two arrested men had been held at Finglas and Ballymun Garda stations under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act, which allows them to be held for up to 48 hours before being charged or released.