Well-known criminal killed in gang shooting
26-year-old Anthony Cannon was shot dead shortly before 4pm on St Mary’s Avenue, behind Ruby Finnegans pub in Ballyfermot, Co Dublin. The gun attack is the 17th gangland style shooting in the country so far this year.
It is believed two men on a motorbike chased the man before they opened fire. Up to 11 shots were fired at the 26-year-old victim, who was wearing a bullet-proof vest when he was killed.
Two of the bullets are said to have hit the well-known gangland criminal in the head. The gunman is also believed to have shot the victim a number of times as he lay on the ground.
A Garda spokesman said when officers arrived at the scene they found the man had suffered serious injuries. He was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene.
The body remained at the scene last night where it was hidden from onlookers behind a Garda screen. A senior garda said despite only having a few minor convictions, including one for drugs possession, Cannon was well known to detectives. “He was never done for anything major, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he wasn’t big,” he said.
The dead man is understood to be from Dublin’s south inner city and part of the gang linked to the ongoing Crumlin-Drimnagh feud which has claimed 12 lives since it began in 2001.
It is believed the gun attack may be linked to a recent shooting in the Drimnagh area where a man was injured in the leg. Residents gathered at the scene in the aftermath of the attack, which was sealed off for a forensic examination.
The state pathologist’s office was also been notified.
Sinn Féin councillor Criona Ní Dhálaigh said the shooting happened close to a GAA pitch where children where playing at the time.
“That’s nerve-wracking for parents to make sure children are OK. You send them out and you go out and presume they’re going to be safe,” she said.
The murder comes just weeks after father-of-two Wayne Doherty was gunned down outside his parents’ home at Oakview Way in Hartstown, west Dublin.
His brother and sister witnessed the attack, which was believed to have followed a row at a gathering in a pub in Clonee, Co Meath, the previous Saturday.
