Gardaí investigating the murder of a 21-year-old man on the banks of the Grand Canal in Dublin said the victim had been shot in the back of the head at point blank range.
A shotgun was used in the killing.
The murder weapon had not been found last night but a number of shotgun cartridges were recovered at the scene.
Gardaí were trying to establish a motive for the gangland-style killing. It was the third gun murder in the Republic so far this year.
The body of the victim - Darren Guerrine, La Touche Rd, Bluebell, Dublin 12 - was found on the banks of the canal at the back of the Jamestown industrial estate close to his home.
His remains were discovered at about 7.45am by a man on his way to work.
The stretch of canal bank, between Kylemore Road and the Naas Road, is accessible only on foot across lock gates.
Gardaí believe the victim was killed where he was found. They are working on the theory that he met his killer there or that the killer went to the scene to shoot him.
No clear motive for the murder had emerged last night and while the dead man had come to the attention of gardaí in the past he was not known for involvement in serious or organised crime.
He had a number of convictions for road traffic offences and public order incidents.
He was facing charges relating to an incident in the midlands when he was caught driving a stolen car and was facing charges of careless driving and drink-driving in relation to the same incident.
Gardaí believe the victim regularly mixed with other local people on the canal bank. They are trying to establish if anybody was with him there on Sunday night or early yesterday morning.
The last known sighting of Mr Guerrine was at about 9pm on Sunday in Bluebell. His friends and associates were being spoken to by gardaí last night in an effort to piece together his last movements.
Mr Guerrine's remains were examined at the scene by Deputy State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis. The body was then taken away for a full postmortem examination.
It revealed that while he was shot once in the back of the head, he sustained severe facial injuries as a result of the blast.
The scene on the canal bank was sealed off from first light yesterday morning and a full examination was carried out by the Garda Technical Bureau.
Divers from the Garda Water Unit searched the canal for much of the day for the murder weapon and any other clues.
Extensive searching of the canal bank was also carried out. The investigating team was conducting door to door inquiries in the area in the hope that local people may be able to pinpoint a motive for the killing.
Supt Thadie Muldoon said gardaí in Kilmainham Garda station were appealing for anyone with information to contact them in the strictest of confidence.
Gardaí in Kilmainham can be contacted on (01) 6669700.