Shot siege man 'fighting for life'
The armed man at the centre of a tense siege in Co Galway now believed to be fighting for his life today after being shot by gardaí.
The man, named locally as 39-year-old Anthony Burke, had barricaded himself into his home in Gort since 11.30pm on Sunday night.
After a day of contact with trained police negotiators, he left the Crowe Street house at 8.20pm last night and began shooting in the direction of Gardaí.
They responded with non-lethal weapons, but after that failed to disable him, they shot the man once on the upper body.
He remains in a critical but stable condition at University College Hospital in Galway.
The Gardaí say the decision to open fire was taken as the man posed a threat to officers at the scene and others in the area.
A Chief Superintendent from outside the Galway region has been appointed to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.
