Gardaí probe possible link between murder and gang feud
Gerard Goulding, 24, was shot dead at close range in Donaghmede in north Dublin at around 11pm last Monday.
The heroin addict was one of 42 people who have been so far charged in connection with the Dublin riots last February.
Goulding was captured on camera stealing tracksuits from the Foot Locker store on O’Connell Street and was due to appear in court last Friday on related charges.
Detectives suspect that Goulding may have been involved in a feud in the north inner city, where he lived.
Last week, a gang arrived at the Mary Mansions flat complex in the north inner city and broke into a flat.
Gardaí suspect they were looking for a particular person and had entered the wrong flat.
As they left, a gang emerged from a neighbouring flat and opened fire.
“A gang arrived and broke into a flat and another crew arrived out of another flat, and fired five 9mm rounds of ammunition at them as they were going away,” said one garda source.
He said it looked like the first gang had gone into the wrong flat and that the gang that fired the shots were probably the intended target. No one was injured.
He said gardaí did not know whether the feud was to do with drug dealing or a personal row, which had led to a so-called ‘straightener’, where one person decides to “have it out” with another.
Gardaí in Coolock investigating the murder are to examine whether Goulding’s death is connected with this feud.
The investigating team is trying to trace a man who was seen fleeing the murder scene at the time of the shooting. They have appealed to taxi drivers and the public who may have seen the person.
The man is described as 5ft11 tall, with a slim build, a slim face and a pointed nose. He wore a distinctive, brilliant-white tracksuit top with dark bands on the neck and sleeves.
