Limerick teen’s van burned out hours before being lured to his death

A VAN, used by murdered Limerick teenager Aidan Kelly, was stolen and burnt out hours before he was lured to his death.

The vehicle, found in St Mary’s Park, supports suspicion that a gang in the area — the Keane gang — was involved in the shooting.

The van had been stolen on Wednesday in Moyross where 19-year-old Mr Kelly lived with his pregnant girlfriend, Nicola.

Later that night, Mr Kelly was lured to a meeting on a country road at Blackwater and shot dead. He may have gone there in the belief he would recover the van.

A post-mortem confirmed he died from multiple gun shot wounds.

Mr Kelly, although known to gardaí, was not considered a serious criminal.

Gardaí are carrying out ballistic tests on a rifle found beside the body, but it is not believed to be the murder weapon.

Mr Kelly’s silver Opel Astra car was found parked on the road adjacent to the laneway where he was shot.

The Keane gang, based in St Mary’s Park, controls a drugs network in the northside of Limerick. Its members are among suspects for carrying out the murder.

Informed sources suggest Mr Kelly had no significant links with the rival Ryan gang, based in Moyross, but may have been singled out as he was friendly with some of its members.

The Keane gang may have sought revenge after shots were fired at two of their members earlier on Wednesday, when they went to Moyross to meet a key member of the rival gang.

Mr Kelly could have been seen as a “soft target”.

He was known to visit people in St Mary’s Park and this may have lulled him into a false sense of security when he was asked to meet a person at Blackwater.

Hundreds attended his Mr Kelly’s removal last night to Corpus Christi church in Moyross. The burial will take place this morning after Requiem Mass.