Gunmen's victim 'was drug dealer'

Neighbours tonight placed bouquets outside the house where a Dublin drug dealer was killed.

Paul Cunningham, 23, was shot twice in the chest by two gunmen at 3am in his home in Mulhuddart.

The gunmen entered through the back alley of the house directly behind Cunningham’s home. They broke in through the back door, went up the stairs and shot Cunningham in his bedroom, where his partner and an 18-month-old child were also sleeping.

The men escaped from the house on foot although Gardai were investigating the possibility that they were picked up in a car. Garda sources confirmed Cunningham had a long criminal history, including robbery and drug dealing.

Members of the technical bureau sealed off the area around Cunningham’s house in Drumheath Avenue and the alleyway beside the house.

A crowd watched as Cunningham’s car was pushed out of the garden and taken for forensic examination. His partner and young child were tonight staying with relatives.

Mulhuddart, which was once a semi-rural part of Dublin, is now a rapidly growing town on the outskirts of Blanchards Town.