Armed raider threatened to kill family

A RAIDER wearing a balaclava prodded a loaded sawn-off shotgun into the stomach of a woman and told her that he would blow her head off during the course of an armed robbery, a court has heard.

At Ennis Circuit Court, Detective Sergeant Kevin O’Hagan said Simon Gentles also pointed the weapon in the face of Nora Fitzpatrick’s son Barry, 14, during an aggravated burglary at their home in Sixmilebridge, Co Clare, on January 7, 2010.

A victim impact statement read out in court said Barry Fitzpatrick feared for the life of his mother and his own life “and thought the man was going to shoot us”.