Crime gang interrupted while dumping gunshot victim

Gardaí are hunting a crime gang who were interrupted by officers while dumping the body of a man wearing a bullet-proof vest in rural Dublin at the weekend.

The incident, which saw the seriously injured man die from his wounds, occurred in the Foxhill Road/Bohernabreena Rd area of Tallaght on Saturday.

Just after 10.45pm, officers on a routine patrol spotted a silver car, believed to be a hatchback, near the narrow, rural road.

When they approached the car, two men jumped into it and “drove away at high speed”.

Officers pursued the vehicle, which has yet to be located, but were unable to stop the escape.

When they returned to the scene, the gardaí found a seriously injured man in a bullet-proof vest who had gunshot wounds to his neck and upper body.

The man in his 40s, who gardaí have declined to identify until all family members have been contacted, died from his injuries.

The scene was being examined yesterday by the Garda Technical Bureau and deputy state pathologist Michael Curtis.

Officers are working on the theory that the man was either being dumped when gardaí came upon the scene or was thrown out of the vehicle as the suspects sped away.

Anyone with information about the murder, or who may have noticed anything suspicious in the area between 10pm and 11pm on Saturday, are being asked to contact Tallaght garda station on 01 666 6000 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.

The incident is the eighth violent death to occur in Ireland since the start of the year, and the second shooting in three weeks.

The deaths include:

* Wayne McQuillan, 30, stabbed at a house in Drogheda, Co Louth, on New Year’s Day. A woman has since been charged;

* Dale Creighton, 20, who died after being assaulted in Tallaght early on New Year’s Day;

* Thomas Horan, 63, who was murdered in his home at Cambridge Court, Ringsend, Dublin, on Jan 6. A man and woman have been charged with his murder;

* Christy Daly, 47, whose body was found in a drain in Clara, Co Offaly, on Tuesday Jan 7. He was shot and is believed to have been dead for 10 days. Gardaí have linked the death to a drugs feud;

* Vincent Maher, 29, beaten to death in an apartment at Wellmount Rd in Finglas, Dublin, on Jan 11. A woman was arrested in relation to the incident yesterday;

* Tom O Gorman, 39, who was murdered at his home in Castleknock, Dublin, on Jan 12. A man has been charged.