The men being questioned about the shooting of two gardai at a north Dublin apartment yesterday morning are believed to be members of a gang in hiding since the fatal shooting of a man in a north Dublin pub on Sunday night.
The gardai were injured when a single shotgun blast was fired from inside a room in the apartment at the Richmond complex off North Brunswick Street. Some 20 officers, including armed members of the Emergency Response Unit and members of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, raided the apartment at about 5.50 a.m. after a tip-off. Det Garda Fergal Patwell and Det Sgt John Gantly were injured by a shot from a sawn-off shotgun.
The men, whose ages range from 25 to 53, had barricaded themselves inside the apartment and were sleeping on mattresses on the floor. A senior Garda source said they were believed to be members of a gang that fought with a rival gang at the Tower Inn in Finglas on Sunday night. The fight resulted in the death of Mr Eamon O'Reilly (22) who is believed to have been killed unintentionally when someone close to him pulled out a sawn-off shotgun. The men involved had been drinking heavily, gardai said.
In a statement, the Garda Press Office confirmed that the search of the apartment, under warrant, was connected to Mr O'Reilly's murder.
The rival gangs are understood to have been involved in smalltime protection rackets. Mr O'Reilly, who worked as a doorman and had a criminal record, was drinking with a number of men in the pub when a row broke out around 9.30 p.m. The gangs were believed to have been involved in a "turf war" over security at pubs and dances in north Dublin. The seven men arrested yesterday morning left the south Finglas area shortly after the murder, perhaps fearing retribution for the killing.
A number of weapons, including a sawn-off double-barrelled shotgun, shotgun cartridges, a machete, daggers and kitchen knives were found in the apartment. The men were arrested under Section 30 of the Offences against the State Act, and can be held for 48 hours before being released or charged. The men are all from Finglas and the inner-city area.
Three men were being questioned at Lucan Garda station, one in Ballyfermot, two in Cabra and one in Finglas Garda station.
Garda Patwell was comfortable in the Mater Hospital last night. Det Sgt Gantly was discharged after treatment for facial injuries.
