Bean bag shots failed to make impact

BEAN bag shots are the main less-than-lethal weapons available to members of the Emergency Response Unit (ERU).

Reports say gardaí fired four rounds of the weapon at Anthony Burke, but that they failed to make an impact.

According to the Department of Justice, the bean bag shot is “effectively a bag filled with shot fired from a shotgun so that it does not penetrate the body but delivers a blow with the intention of temporarily incapacitating the person”.