Heavy garda presence after Spanish shooting

There was a heavy garda presence in Dublin’s north inner city yesterday as authorities fear more gun attacks following the shooting of Trevor O’Neill in Spain.

Mr O’Neill, a completely innocent man who worked for Dublin City Council, was on holidays in Majorca when he was shot dead in front of his partner and three children on Wednesday night.

It is alleged that the intended shooting target was a relative of the Hutch family, currently embroiled in a feud with the Kinahan gang.

“I was coming off the homeless run early on Friday morning and there were several garda vans and an armed unit in the north inner city,” independent councillor Christy Burke told the Irish Examiner.

The vehicles are understood to have been parked outside and patrolling an area where Hutch relatives live.

An Garda Síochána yesterday told this newspaper that they had no comment to make on the shooting in Spain.

A spokesperson said it was a “Spanish investigation” and would not confirm whether the Guardia Civilia had requested their assistance in investigating Wednesday’s fatal shooting.

Meanwhile, Guardia Civilia told the Irish Examiner that they had no update on the shooting.

“It is a special investigation,” said a spokesperson yesterday afternoon who added that they would inform the media when they “catch the person”.

Mr O’Neill was shot on Wednesday night at around 9pm near the popular resort of Costa de la Calma in south-west Majorca around 25km from the capital Palma.

It understood that Mr O’Neill’s family is now back in Dublin.

Yesterday afternoon mourners began laying flowers at the gate of their family home in Drimnagh.

It is understood that Mr O’Neill was shot at close range. While witnesses heard several gunshots, an autopsy carried out at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in the Majorcan capital Palma showed he died of a single gunshot wound to the lower back.