Garda: Do not be afraid in your home

The senior garda leading the investigating into the shooting of a suspected burglar has moved to reassure people not to be afraid in their own homes.

Chief Superintendent Francis Clerkin said gardaí had a number of operations in place to deal with burglaries and had recently arrested suspects and brought them before the courts.

Meanwhile, the man who was shot while fleeing a farm in north Dublin last Thursday is still in hospital and is unlikely to be discharged for several days.

The 34-year-old from Finglas is known to gardaí and has previous convictions for burglary and theft.

Detectives are waiting to formally interview him about the incident and are expected to do so once he is no longer under medical care.

Graham Lowndes shot the man in the arm as he chased him off a farm run by his 79-year-old father after discovering the house had been ransacked.

The suspect claimed the son had got it wrong and had only been on the farm to thank his father for an earlier act of kindness.

Chief Supt Clerkin declined to comment in detail about the specific case other than to say “all the circumstances” would be investigated and all parties would be interviewed.

But the garda was keen to put people at ease in relation to fears about burglaries and general criminality in the community.

“From a Garda perspective, I would like to reassure the public that this matter and other criminal activity are being fully investigated.”

He said gardaí had a number of operations in place to deal with burglaries and crime in general.

“In that aspect we’ve had a number of successes. A number of people have been arrested and brought before the courts.

“I want to give that reassurance that people shouldn’t be afraid.

“I would like the message to get out there that we are investigating these crimes.

“We also have patrols out there, community policing, neighbourhood watch schemes and we visit old people.

“If people are afraid they should contact us and we will give them crime prevention advice.”

The public, he said, can also access advice on the Garda website.

Chief Supt Clerkin further warned about so-called deception crime, where callers to homes pretended to be from a legitimate agency or company.

He urged people to ask for identification and to ring the company concerned or the gardaí if they were suspicious.

* For more on crime prevention, see www.garda.ie