‘Wrong man’ was murdered in city attack as feud grows

GARDAÍ yesterday said they were convinced that the man shot dead in Dublin’s north inner city last Wednesday was the innocent victim of a revenge attack for a murder in the area two weeks ago.

Investigating officers said Stephen Ledden was “the wrong man” and that he was not linked to the gunning down of Gerard Byrne on December 13.

The deaths are believed to be part of a violent feud between two extended families in the Sheriff Street area. It’s claimed the feud stems from the alleged rape of a member of one family by a leading member of the other family.

Detectives believe the assassin either thought Mr Ledden was Mr Byrne’s killer or shot him in a moment of panic when he could not find the intended target.

Senior gardaí are extremely concerned that violence will escalate in the Sheriff Street area and have described the situation as “very volatile”.

Gardaí have ruled out suspicions in the community that the 28-year-old may have been targeted because the Ledden family was related to one of two feuding families in the area.

“Definitely, the wrong man was shot,” said a garda source. “Why, we can’t say for sure. The killer might have thought he was the right guy or panicked and shot him, We don’t know.”

Mr Ledden, a father of a two-month-old baby, was shot as he slept on a couch in the sitting room of a house in Oriel Street Upper, near Sheriff Street.

Gardaí confirmed the front door of the house was not locked and that the killer walked in and shot the victim once in the head.

The total lack of security precautions taken by Mr Ledden immediately raised doubts that he was Mr Byrne’s killer.

Detectives have spoken to the four other occupants of the house as well as neighbours, but have no description of the attacker.

The murder took place while there was a heavy armed and unarmed garda presence in the general area, including a checkpoint not far from the murder scene.

Investigating gardaí yesterday said the situation was “very complicated” and that a number of “wild theories” were circulating in the area.

They described the situation as “very volatile”, with further violence expected.

Gardaí said they were trying to locate certain people who, they believe, might have crucial information.

In response to reports that a man linked to Mr Byrne was stabbed in the neck just after Mr Ledden’s death, the Garda Press Office yesterday said they were aware of an attack, but said it was “not associated with anything at the moment”.