Man ‘lucky to be alive’ after ambush

A WIFE watched in horror as gunmen shot her husband a number of times, after confronting the couple in their own home.

Garda sources said the injured man, aged in his 30s, was lucky to be alive after he was shot in the chest while in the house, and shot again as he ran outside.

The shooting happened after the couple returned from a night out to their home, at Foxlodge Woods, Rathoath, Co Meath.

They were confronted at 12.45am yesterday by two gunmen waiting inside their home. One of the gunmen is reported to have fired a number of shots at the man, who was taken to James Connolly Memorial Hospital.

He is reported to be in a stable condition. His wife was not injured.

Gardaí at Ashbourne were remaining tight-lipped about the motive behind the shooting.

Meanwhile, gardaí in Co Clare have released without charge a man they had been questioning about a shooting incident, early on Saturday, which left a young woman in a serious condition in hospital.

The 25-year-old mother of two, named locally last night as Cora Maxwell, was said to be “a very lucky woman” following the incident. She is now reported to be “comfortable” at the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick.

Ms Maxwell was shot in the thigh at her semi-detached Cappa Lodge home at around 3.40am on Saturday.

Gardai have confirmed she was hit once by a single blast from a shotgun.

A firearm was recovered from an upstairs bedroom, and gardai have questioned a man in his 30s.