Violence erupts in Sligo as gardaí probe Lynch gunman theory
That is one of the theories gardaí are investigating as the fallout from the murder of the father of four continued with violence breaking out in the city over the past week.
Two men were injured after they were attacked by masked men, armed with baseball bats and sticks in savage beatings in Cranmore and Woodtown Lodge.
A petrol bomb was thrown at the residence of one of the men who was in the van with Mr Lynch on the night he was killed.
The bomb caused minor damage to the front door of the house in Glendallon last Friday.
The man, who is not the owner of the house, was shaken but unhurt and no one else was injured.
This was one of four violent incidents in the town since the murder.
Gardaí were also investigating reports of three armed and masked men bursting into a house in St Edwards Terrace.
The occupant, who is deaf, jumped out of a window and injured his leg as he fled from attackers. He was taken to Sligo General Hospital.
It is believed the raiders entered the wrong house and were looking for another individual.
In Cranmore, a man was beaten by a masked gang wielding baseball bats.
But Garda sources said they were looking at the possibility that both David Lynch and Hughie McGinley were killed by the same assassin or a member of the same gang whoordered the settled traveller’s execution.
It is believed David Lynch was beaten by a member of this gang about seven years ago.
Other possible lines of inquiry include reports the deceased had crossed a criminal gang from the North and a Limerick criminal gang.
“That is just one line of inquiry for us so far but we are keeping an open mind on other possibilities as well. We are examining that possibility along with several others.
“Both murders were carried out in a very clinical fashion and the killer seemed to be a remarkably cool individual. There were a number of worrying incidents at the weekend and we are trying to establish whether they are linked to the murder,” said a Garda source.
A lone gunman shot Hughie McGinley dead as he sat in his van in Grattan Street, Sligo, in April 2005, before speeding off on a motor-bike.
The killer who shot Mr Lynch fired at least seven shots at his victim.
The attack happened a few hundred yards from Carroll Drive, where Sam Smith, 23, was gunned down outside his sister’s home in December 2006.
Gardaí fear the attacks may mean that violence in the city is spiralling out of control.
They used tracker dogs in a search of a field beside Cranmore in their bid to recover the murder weapon. However, the search proved fruitless.
House to house inquiries have also been continuing in the Cranmore area.
This is the second murder in Sligo in the space of four months and the fourth since April 2005. All remain unsolved.
