Gardaí hunt gang as weekend gun attacks rise to five

GARDAÍ were yesterday trying to identify a gang which carried out a gun attack on two Lithuanian men over the weekend.

The two victims were shot at their home in Cabra, north Dublin, on Saturday night. It was the second shooting in the area in as many days.

On Friday, the body of criminal Shay Bradley was found in a car near Blackhorse Avenue in Cabra. He had died from gunshot wounds.

The two Lithuanian men, aged 27 and 29, were injured when a gang fired into a house on Ashington Heath, off the Navan Road, at about 10pm on Saturday.

The gang had called to the semi-detached house and a struggle ensued at the doorway, followed by the shotgun blasts. One of the victims was shot in the hand, while the other was shot in the buttocks.

The attackers were reported to have fled in a white car.

The injured men were taken to the James Connolly Memorial Hospital in Blanchardstown and their condition was last night described as stable.

Gardaí sealed off the scene for forensic examination and detectives searched a nearby premises and arrested three men, all believed to be from Poland.

Gardaí seized a small quantity of cannabis, with a street value of €600, from the house.

The three Poles were later released. One of the men was charged in Cabra Garda Station and given bail. He is due to appear in court at a later date in relation to the drugs seizure.

Gardaí conducted house- to-house inquiries to establish if there were any witnesses. Detectives were investigating the gangland murder of Shay Bradley when the gun attack happened.

Officers are investigating the theory that the 27-year -old may have been targeted by a drug boss who feared he might give evidence in an upcoming prosecution.

Bradley was facing gun charges in connection with a botched murder attempt on small-time dealer Owen McCarthy, who was subsequently murdered.

Meanwhile on Saturday, a man was shot in nearby Finglas, near Berryfield Drive. The 23-year-old, who is known to gardaí, was shot three times and is said to be in a stable condition.

In Clonmel, Co Tipperary, a man in his 30s was arrested after shots were fired outside a pub on Thomas Street on Saturday evening. No one was injured.

Meanwhile, a sixth person arrested in connection with the murder of Donna Clearly in Coolock, north Dublin, just over a week ago was released without charge from custody yesterday.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said yesterday that illegal possession of firearms should carry a mandatory sentence of five to 10 years.

"I support mandatory sentences where tough minimum sentences for gun-carrying is involved," he said.

"You cannot have a situation in a civil society where people are walking around (with) or have access at very short notice to lethal weapons, and proceed to administer lethal justice in the form of murder and serious assault," he told RTÉ Radio. "I wouldn't be opposed to a five or 10-year mandatory sentence provided that it works."

He claimed the Government had "abandoned people" in some communities, and that Justice Minister Michael McDowell had been "a spectacular failure".

But Mr McDowell criticised Fine Gael "hypocrisy", adding: "The party... strenuously opposed the introduction of mandatory sentences for drug dealers when they were originally proposed by my predecessor, John O'Donoghue."