Woman escapes death in drive-by shooting

A MIDDLE-AGED woman related to a Limerick family feud narrowly escaped death in a drive-by shooting late on Monday night.

The woman was entering a house at Pinewood Avenue, Caherdavin, at about 10.45pm when a gunman opened fire from a passing car.

A bullet smashed through a pane of glass inches from where she was standing.

The woman was not hurt in the attack. She is related to Noel Campion, 35, who was shot dead when he was a passenger on a motorbike which was being driven in Thomongate last April.

Yesterday, Garda forensic experts carried out a detailed examination of the scene of the latest feud-related shooting in Caherdavin. A Garda spokesman said they were trying to trace a dark green saloon car that was seen leaving the Caherdavin area shortly after the shooting.

This incident has come after aperiod of relative quiet when there were no reported shootings in the city.

Extra armed patrols have been deployed over the past two months in Moyross, St Mary’s Park, Ballinacurra Weston and Southill, the major flashpoints in the ongoing feud.

Members of the McCarthy Dundon gang are suspected of being involved in the well-planned murder of Noel Campion last April.

It is believed he was shot as reprisal for the murder of McCarthy Dundon gang member “Fat Frankie” Ryan who was shot dead as he sat in his parked car at Pineview Gardens, Moyross, in September 2006.

A man who offers his gun-for-hire services for €10,000 per assignment is understood to have been engaged by the Keane Collopy gang to have Mr Ryan shot dead.

A third Campion brother is serving life for the brutal murder of elderly Clare man, Paudge Skeehan.