Gardaí: Others could have died in ‘reckless’ caravan park murder

INNOCENT holidaymakers could have lost their lives in a “reckless” gangland-style murder of a father at a caravan park in north Co Dublin.

Michael Taylor, 53, was shot in the head by two gunmen in broad daylight on bank holiday Monday, just as he arrived at the Hand Caravan Park in Donabate.

Mr Taylor, from Summerhill, in the north inner city, was pronounced dead yesterday morning at Beaumont Hospital.

He is the sixth fatal shooting victim this year.

Detectives are investigating if he was targeted because of his links with a man who is involved in a violent feud in the north inner city.

This feud has already claimed one life and some of the players are heavily involved in serious crime. Mr Taylor himself is not suspected of involvement in the feud but could have been singled out simply because he is close to the main figure on one of the two factions.

Gardaí said two masked men, both carrying handguns, approached the victim as he arrived with a female friend at the caravan park just after 4.40pm. Both men opened fire, hitting Mr Taylor twice in the back of the head.

“This was a callous shooting, carried out in a reckless fashion,” said Superintendent Mark Curran, who is leading the investigation. “It was reckless in the sense that there were bullets that were discharged that didn’t hit the target, other than the victim. One was a car, the other went through the window of another caravan. There were in excess of four shots fired.”

Supt Curran said gardaí believed there were people in the caravan that was hit and said “lives were possibly put at risk”.

He declined to comment on the background of Mr Taylor other that to say he was a family man from the north inner city. Nor would he comment on whether previous incidents involving a man he was linked with could be a motive for the attack.

“We don’t know exactly what the motive is,” said the superintendent.

“We would encourage anyone with information in relation to motive and who may know the identity of the attackers to contact us.”

He said the killers may have either followed the victim’s car or were lying in wait.

Supt Curran said the attackers travelled in a 09 D metallic blue Opel Insignia. They fled in the same car and drove to Turvey Woods on the other wide of Donabate village where they burnt it out.

They then got into a second vehicle, a 07 D black Honda Civic hatchback.

Gardaí in Swords have located a Honda Civic car in the Glasnevin area of Dublin that they believe to have been used in connection with the shooting.

One of the attackers wore a black hoodie and one wore a grey hoodie and both had balaclavas underneath. One is said to be possibly in his 30s.

Some 50 statements have so far been taken from people at the scene and a team of up to 60 detectives, including members of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, are involved.

* Anyone with information on the car, the suspects or the motive can ring Swords Garda Station on 01 6664700.