Family of man shot dead in Dublin appeals for privacy
The family of a man shot in broad daylight in Dublin's north inner city yesterday have appealed for privacy.
The man in his 20s was shot up to six times at the junction of Sheriff and Oriel Street, and later died at the Mater Hospital.
It is believed that he was not the intended target, and that this latest attack may be linked to the Hutch/Kinahan feud which has claimed five lives, including four in Dublin in 10 weeks.
Gardaí believe they have recovered the gun used in the shooting. It was found in a wheelie bin close to the scene.
Yesterday’s target, a senior Hutch figure, is thought to have left a pub onto Lower Sheriff St in Dublin’s north inner city at the same time as a homeless man was passing.
It is thought both men ran for cover when a gunman approached and that the victim may have ended up stuck between the gunman and his intended target.
Gardaí said up to six shots were fired, at least two hitting the victim, who suffered fatal head injuries. The gunman escaped on a bicycle down Sheriff St. He is described as being of strong build and wore black clothing and possibly had a scarf over his face.
The victim was named locally as Martin O’Rourke, aged 24. He was described as having a “chaotic lifestyle”, blighted by drugs, drink, homelessness, and low-level criminality.
He was a father and had an address in the Bridewell area, but was in and out of emergency accommodation and drug-addiction services.
The intended target is 32 years old and is a convicted armed robber. He is suspected by the Kinahan cartel of taking part in the Regency Hotel assault on February 4, in which Kinahan lieutenant David Byrne was shot dead.
That was a revenge attack for the shooting dead by the Kinahan gang of Gary Hutch last September in Spain.
Three days after the Regency attack, Edward Hutch — brother of Gerard ‘The Monk’ Hutch — was shot dead in Hutch heartland in the north inner city.
Last month, Noel Duggan, a criminal associate of The Monk, was shot dead in Ratoath, Co Meath, again at the suspected hands of the Kinahan cartel.
Independent Councillor Ciaran Perry, said not enough was being done to tackle drug crime in Dublin.
"With all the millions supposedly spent on tackling drugs in working class areas, drug abuse, drug dealing and drug deaths continue," he said.
"It's clear resources - if sufficient resources are being put in - are not being targeted in the right direction. I don’t think the Government have put the necessary resources into tackling the supply and the effects of the supply, with proper rehabilitation."
