One of the men shot during an attempted robbery in Lucan, west Dublin this morning has died.
Another man remains in hospital and four others have been arrested after a number of shots were fired during the attempted robbery.
The men were attempting to rob a G4S cash-in-transit van as it was delivering money to an ATM in a Centra shop in the Foxborough Park estate at around 11.30am when they were confronted by gardaí.
Gardaí moved in as the attempted robbery was under way and a number of shots were fired. The scene has been sealed off by gardaí.
The shooting involved members of the Garda’s Organised Crime Unit at the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation. A Garda statement said: "During the incident a number of shots were fired and two men were injured. One of the men has since died in hospital. The State Pathologist has been contacted."
It said the four men arrested were in their 20s and were being questioned in Lucan and Ronanstown Garda Stations under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.
The raiders are believed to be members of a criminal gang based in Sherriff Street in Dublin’s north inner city. One of the injured men is said to be in a serious condition in hospital.
One of the three men arrested by detectives is related to a very well-know armed robber from Dublin’s north inner city and is a suspect in the €7.6 million raid on the Bank of Ireland in College Green Dublin in March.
One eyewitness told The Irish Timeshe heard up to six shots being fired. "There were undercover gardai everywhere the minute this thing happened," he said.
This afternoon the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) said it was opening an investigation into the incident after it had been referred to it by the Garda Commissioner.
Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said in a statement that while the loss of any life was to be "regretted" he had no doubt that the Garda had the full support of the community in taking whatever action was necessary when confronted by armed gangs.
“Today's incident is a reminder of the dangers faced by members of An Garda Síochána in carrying out their duties and their courage in confronting those dangers,” Mr Ahern said.