Man held after terror hijacking
And in another serious crime, an antique dealer disarmed two raiders when they walked into his shop pointing a handgun at his head.
A woman in her 20s was terrorised when a man jumped into her boyfriend’s car at a filling station on the Dublin Road when he was paying for petrol.
The car, described as a “souped-up” sports model, sped off holding the woman captive. After the car weaved through city traffic, the woman sat in terror.
After some time, the hijacker slammed on the brakes and pushed her out of the car. As he took off again, uniformed and armed detectives picked up his trail as he headed towards Caherconlish. A spokesman at Henry Street Garda Station said a number of Garda cars gave chase and managed to halt the stolen car at a roadblock that they set up at Caherconlish. The man arrested at the scene is a member of a well-known criminal family from the southside of Limerick.
“The uniformed and detective members acquitted themselves very well in a serious situation. A man was arrested and is being held under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act,” said the spokesman.
In the other incident, antique dealer Jim Noonan was confronted by two raiders at his city centre shop in Ellen Street. They demanded money while pointing the gun at Mr Noonan. “I was there in the shop and took the gun off him and that is all,” said Mr Noonan.
Gardaí said both raiders ran from the shop and headed towards the Watergate flats. The Garda spokesman said the gun was a very good imitation and has been sent to the Garda ballistics section in Dublin for examination.
Limerick gardaí are very concerned at the recent increase in the number of imitation guns being brandished in public places in Limerick. Over the past week, gardaí received six reports of guns being carried by youths on city streets.
Garda Inspector John O’Reilly said these guns are illegal under the firearms act and those arrested with them face serious consequences.
