Gardaí are investigating a number of violent disturbances in Kilmallock, Co Limerick, which occurred last Sunday, following a number of clashes between rival groups where a house was attacked and cars were damaged.
A number of videos circulating online show groups of men using sticks to break windows in a house, and a voice can then be heard saying that the wrong house had been attacked.
In one, a woman asks if there are guns present, prompting another woman to say: “There was guns there a while ago because a shot went off.” Then, a woman is heard telling a child to leave, saying: “You’re too young to be looking at that.”
Local gardaí "requested assistance" and a number of Garda units from neighbouring districts, as well as armed gardaí, were deployed, though An Garda Síochána says it has no reports logged saying that shots were fired.
Social media
One of the videos shows a garda trying to calm the crowd. Gardaí are now examining the videos that have been shared widely on social media, along with CCTV footage.
The violence began at about 8pm on Sunday night, and continued for a number of hours. Gardaí have been “actively patrolling” since then, in a bid to keep a lid on tensions between the rival groups.
“A number of Garda units, including the regional armed support unit, responded to public order incidents at approximately 8pm on Sunday, September 12th, 2021 in the Kilmallock area of Co Limerick.”
“The situation was calmed after a period of time by local Gardaí and no arrests were made. No reports of injuries have been made at this stage and a number of incidents are being actively investigated,” said the Garda press office.