Melanie killed by shotgun pressed to window

The shotgun used to kill Melanie McCarthy was pressed against the passenger window when it was fired — giving the 16 year old no chance of survival.

Melanie was sitting behind the front-seat passenger in a parked Nissan Almera on Brookview Way in Tallaght, south-west Dublin, when gunmen pulled up beside the car in a 4x4 and fired two shots into it.

Gardaí suspect the gunmen had intended to shoot at either her boyfriend, Christopher Moran, who was in the front passenger seat, or another friend who was driving the car.