Tallaght: Girl shot dead 'in family feud'
A teenage girl killed in a drive-by shooting may have been mistakenly targeted in a feud between families, detectives believe.
The 16-year-old, named locally as Melanie McCarthy, but also known by the surname McNamara, was shot in Tallaght, Dublin, last night at around 10.35pm.
She was sitting in a silver-coloured Nissan Almera car in Brookview Way with three others when her killer opened fire from a black Hyundai Santa Fe SUV that pulled up alongside.
One line of inquiry is that the shooting was linked to a falling out between traveller families.
“It is believed she may not have been the intended target,” said a garda source.
At least one shot was fired from the Hyundai into the car, shattering the side window and hitting the teenager in the head.
She was two weeks from her 17th birthday.
The driver of the Nissan rushed her to Tallaght Hospital where, despite intensive efforts to save her, she was pronounced dead around 1am.
Her body was removed to the mortuary for a post-mortem examination by the state pathologist.
The teenage girl lived with her family in the Drumcairn Avenue area of Tallaght. They were formerly from Newcastle West in Co Limerick.
The Hyundai, which fled the estate at speed, was later found abandoned in the CityWest area, near Brown’s Barn restaurant.
It was not burned out and detectives are to carry out forensic tests on the vehicle.
That scene and the scene of the shooting have been sealed off for tests by garda technical experts.
