Man (31) held in Dublin murder inquiry

Gardaí investigating the murder of a man in Dublin’s north inner city just before midnight on Sunday have detained a 31-year-old male in relation to the murder.

A postmortem has been completed, which confirmed the dead man died of gunshot wounds.

It is believed he received his injuries from a shotgun blast to the face and upper body .

The arrested man is currently being detained at Mountjoy Garda station.

A 20-year-old woman who was arrested early yesterday morning on suspicion of withholding information is in continuing detention at Mountjoy station.

Fatal injuries

The dead man is believed to have suffered his fatal injuries at the rear of Killarney Court flats off Buckingham Street, a few minutes before midnight on Sunday.

Gardaí are investigating whether the killing was linked to the robbery of a taxi driver, who was threatened with a shotgun at about 7.20pm on Sunday.

Gardaí are also seeking to clarify whether an attack on a homeless man in the area at about 6am yesterday was linked to the killing.

Killarney Court is a Dublin City Council apartment block adjacent to Empress Place, between Buckingham Street and Portland Row.

A number of streets in the immediate area were closed to traffic after the shooting, as gardaí set up a search for the “person of interest” whom they were seeking.

Gardaí are still anxious to interview this person as well as others in connection with the killing, the attack on the homeless man in the area and the robbery of the taxi driver.

The dead man’s body was removed to Dublin city morgue for a post-mortem. He had not been identified last night.

Detectives are trying to establish a motive for the killing.

Detained

In a short statement last night, the Garda Press office said: “Gardaí investigating the murder of a male that occurred at Killarney Court, Dublin 1, have detained a 31-year-old male in relation to the murder.

“He is currently detained under the provisions of section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 at Mountjoy Garda Station.

“The postmortem has been completed and the results have been passed to the investigation team, which confirm that the deceased died from gunshot injuries.”

Streets around the north inner city were reopened to traffic yesterday after a Garda search of the area.

Anyone with information on the killing, the attack on the homeless man or the robbery of the taxi driver is asked to contact the Garda at the incident room at Mountjoy station on 01- 666 8666 or the Garda Confidential Line 1-800-666-111 or any Garda station.