Net closes on gang who fired gun in bank raid

THE net was closing last night on raiders who fired at unarmed gardaí during a bank robbery in Co Limerick yesterday.

Gardaí, aided by an air support unit, last night recovered an undisclosed sum of cash and a shotgun in follow-up searches in the Kilmallock area.

A forensic team will today examine a getaway jeep abandoned close to the scene, as a massive hunt continues, with armed gardaí manning checkpoints.

The robbery, just after the close of business, occurred at the Kilmallock AIB Bank at 4.10pm.

A number of staff were working inside the building when the gang smashed their way into the bank.

A beer keg was thrown through a window and three men, one armed with a double-barreled shotgun and another wielding a large butcher’s knife, entered the premises.

They threatened staff, before escaping with an undisclosed, but not substantial, amount of cash.

A shot was discharged by the raiders as they fled the bank.

Local uniformed gardaí were approaching the robbery scene as the raiders emerged.

Gardaí said no one was seriously injured as the shotgun was discharged, but shocked locals claimed they were showered with glass.

The raiders escaped in a gold-coloured jeep but the vehicle was discovered shortly afterwards at Ballingaddy, about one mile from Kilmallock.

Gardaí believe they can link the jeep to a stolen vehicle report in Tipperary last week.

They believe the vehicle’s registration plates may have been changed.

Confirming the recovery of cash and a weapon, gardaí said last night: “The raiders were surprised by the rapid arrival of local gardaí, who appear to have upset their escape plans.”

A bystander, reportedly hit by flying glass, said: “It all happened out of the blue. I can’t believe this sort of thing has happened in our lovely town.”