40% of gun deaths linked to drug crime

TWO of every five gun deaths in recent years were drugs-related, according to new medical research released yesterday.

The study also found that half the gun deaths were males between 21 and 30 and that two-thirds of victims were known to gardaí or had criminal associations.

The types of guns, age of victims as well as times and locations of shootings were all included in the study of fatalities from gunshot wounds in Ireland over a five-year period.