Gang fire on and injure new garda

A ROOKIE garda had a narrow escape when a gunman fired at him from point blank range only for the bullet to hit the garda’s torch and deflect into his hand.

The attack prompted further calls yesterday for mandatory jail terms for attacks on gardaí.

Garda Joseph Glacken, just out of Templemore Garda College and aged in his 20s, had a baptism of fire when he went to the scene of an armed raid on a petrol station.

The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) yesterday backed requests by the Garda Representative Association (GRA) for minimum sentences for attacks on gardaí.

Detectives said Gda Glacken could have suffered serious, or even fatal, injury.

The rookie was one of three gardaí who were called to a Statoil station in Finglas, north Dublin, at around 10.30pm on Wednesday.

The gang were holding a station attendant at gunpoint as they attempted to break into an ATM machine in the station.

“He’s an extremely lucky man. He was going around to the back of the station and was confronted with a man who pointed a gun at him and fired at point blank range. It was a miracle that the bullet hit the torch, deflected and split his finger,” said a garda colleague.

“Only for his torch the bullet could have hit his groin. He’s just out of Templemore. It’s a horrendous experience for the young man.”

A second officer, a student garda, was also fired on at point blank raid by the same gunman but was not hit.

Gda Glacken underwent an operation to his hand, but the injuries are not thought to be serious.

Detectives suspect that a well-organised Finglas-based mob carried out the attack.

Two suspects were arrested yesterday and can be held for up to two days. Officers are looking for three, possibly four, others.

“There is a clear increase in the number of violent attacks on our members and it’s across the board and across the country,” said GRA president Dermot O’Donnell.

A spokesman for AGSI said the shooting highlighted the dangers facing gardaí on an almost daily basis.

“We are certainly in support of mandatory sentences and would urge that if they are available that the courts operate them,” he said.

Justice Minister Michael McDowell yesterday condemned the shooting when attending a garda graduation in Templemore.