Two questioned over Dublin shooting

Gardaí were last night questioning two men, one a juvenile, in relation to the shooting of a 21-year-old man on Saturday night. Both the victim and the juvenile, who is aged 17, are known to gardaí.

Gardaí arrested the second man, aged 19, yesterday afternoon. He was detained in Whitehall Garda station under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.

The injured man was at his family home on Cromcastle Court, Kilmore West, Dublin, when he was shot at around 11.20pm.

He heard the doorbell ring and when he went to answer the gunman was waiting. He opened fire with a sawn-off shotgun, hitting the 21-year-old a number of times. The gunman then fled.

Members of the victim's family and neighbours rushed to help when they heard the shots. The victim was taken by ambulance to Beaumont hospital.

In the follow-up search gardaí arrested the 17-year-old.

Sources said while the investigation was in its early stages they believed the two men had clashed over a small, unpaid debt linked to the drugs trade.

The 17-year-old was taken to Santry Garda station, where he was still being questioned last night. He was arrested under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act, and can be held for up to 72 hours without charge.

In Cork, a 19-year-old man was recovering last night after he was shot twice as he opened the front door of his home in Knocknaheeny on the north side of the city.

An unknown assailant shot the man after he answered a call to the door of his house at Ardmore Avenue just before 11pm on Saturday.

The man was taken to the Mercy hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries to the upper body. He was later discharged from hospital.

Meanwhile, gardaí in Dublin were last night continuing to question a 27-year-old man in relation to the seizure of a shotgun and sawn-off shotgun on Blackhorse Avenue during a Garda search early on Saturday.

The suspect was being questioned at Store Street Garda station, and can be held for 72 hours without charge.

The seizure of the weapons was part of an investigation into the activities of armed robbers and drug dealing in the Dublin area.

In a separate development, three men who were being questioned in Dublin about a double gun murder in Firhouse last November have been released without charge. The men, aged 28, 35 and 38, were arrested on Friday morning.

They were questioned at Tallaght and Rathfarnham about the murder of Darren Geoghegan (26), Drimnagh, and Gavin Byrne (30), Crumlin, on November 13th last. The victims were embroiled in a turf war with rival drug dealers. They were shot as they sat in their car.

Three days later another criminal, Noel Roche (27), Drimnagh, was shot dead as he sat in his car in Clontarf in what is believed to have been a revenge attack.

Anybody with information on the shooting in Cromcastle on Saturday night is asked to contact Santry Garda station at (01) 6664000.

Any members of the public who may have information on Saturday's shooting in Cork can contact Gurranabraher Garda station on (021) 4946200.