GARDAÍ INVESTIGATING the shooting dead of Aidan O'Kane in Dublin believe a teenage chief suspect was carrying the murder weapon around the streets of East Wall in the period leading up to the fatal attack on Sunday.
Detectives are working on the theory that the dispute between the victim and the teenagers who had repeatedly attacked his home became so intense last week that the chief suspect decided to arm himself.
Gardaí are studying telephone traffic between the dead 50-year-old and the suspected gunman and his associates to assess if threats were made in texts and phone calls.
The local teenagers had been allowed into Mr O'Kane's home on Shelmalier Road for a period earlier this year and many shared his interest in repairing cars and motorbikes. However, local people complained to gardaí that the teenagers were drinking in the house.
Mr O'Kane then discouraged the teenagers from calling to his home. The relationship further deteriorated when he would not allow some of them to drive a motorcycle. The rift led to months of attacks in which the house where Mr O'Kane was staying on Shelmalier Road was hit with missiles, and attempts were made to steal and set fire to vehicles.
On Sunday night, when the house was hit with eggs, Mr O'Kane armed himself with a baton and chased three males from the house up a laneway leading into Bargy Road. It was in the laneway that one of the teenagers shot him once in the chest with a handgun. The house on Shelmalier Road has been searched by gardaí looking for any clues that might help solve the case. A number of other houses have also been searched A leading social campaigner, Fr Peter McVerry, said Sunday's killing was "an event waiting to happen" because Ireland's gun culture was now so entrenched. Community policing needed to be given the same status as the fight against organised crime.
"Gardaí already know what's happening at a very high level, the major criminals, they know everything.
But at this low level of criminality you need a strong emphasis on community policing.
"Young people in certain areas who may be involved in criminality or even just on the fringes of criminality know exactly where to get guns if they have the money to hire them."
Six people, five males aged 13 to 18 years and a 19-year-old woman, were being questioned by gardaí last night at Store Street, Whitehall and Mountjoy Garda stations.
Five have been in custody since Monday, while another male was arrested yesterday and taken for questioning to Whitehall. The suspected gunman is among those being questioned. He is known to gardaí for public order offences and was suspected of stealing cars.
A number of sources said they did not believe the suspected murderer intended to kill Mr O'Kane; rather the confrontation escalated out of control very quickly.
Anyone with information is asked to contact gardaí at Store Street station on (01) 666 8089.