THREE MEN are recovering in hospital after separate shooting and stabbing attacks over the weekend in Dublin.
In the shooting incident two men were wounded with the same firearm. Gardaí believe the victim of the attack managed to grab the weapon and turn it on his attacker.
The man injured in the stabbing attack was believed to be the victim of a carjacking. Both incidents took place just after 6am in the Blanchardstown and Finglas areas of west Dublin.
Gardaí were alerted to the shooting at Corduff Place, Blanchardstown, at 6.10am on Saturday. When they arrived at the scene they found two men wounded and a firearm close by.
Gardaí are working on the theory that the two men knew each other from living in the area. One of the men approached the other outside his house and allegedly shot him in the stomach with a shotgun. However, the injured man managed to wrestle with his attacker. The gun was discharged by the injured man, wounding his attacker in the stomach.
The two men, aged 46 and 52 years, were taken to James Connolly Memorial Hospital, Blanchardstown, where they were recovering last night.
The original gunman was described as being in a critical but stable condition. The man he attacked is less seriously ill. The firearm has been taken by gardaí for technical examination.
Around the same time, gardaí in Finglas responded to a call following a stabbing. When they arrived at the scene at Hazelcroft Park at 6.15am they found a man in his 20s with stab wounds to the upper body. He was taken to James Connolly Memorial Hospital, where he is recovering. His injuries are not life threatening.
The man was sitting in his car in the driveway of his home with a friend when he was attacked. Gardaí believe a number of men walked up to the house, opened the back door of the vehicle and climbed in. They demanded the car keys off the men and stabbed the driver before leaving the area in the vehicle. The car was later found burnt out at nearby Dunsink Lane. Gardaí are following a definite line of inquiry.