Drugs link to man's murder probed

Gardaí were tonight investigating links to a drugs feud after a lone gunman cycled to a house in west Dublin and shot dead a father-of-four.

Detectives said the 36-year-old was killed in an upstairs bedroom at his Clondalkin home in the early hours of this morning.

It is understood a lone gunman entered the house after one of his children answered a call at the front door.

He was shot twice in the chest and pronounced dead at the scene. Neighbours were alerted by children screaming.

The incident took place at around 1.15am in the Westbourne Drive area.

Detectives are investigating possible links to an ongoing drug feud. So far this year eight people have been gunned down in gangland style killings in or around the capital.

Neighbours in the Westbourne area claimed people were seen calling to the home at all hours of the night.

The man, named locally as Tony Creed, moved into the house around six months ago and is suspected of dealing drugs from the property.

There were three children – all under the age of 11 – in the house at the time of the shooting.

It is understood one of the youngsters opened the door to the attacker.

A garda spokeswoman said one of the children saw the gunman flee on the bike but was unable to give a description.

The attacker escaped in the direction of Westbourne Avenue towards the Nangor Road.

State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy attended the scene along with a full garda forensic team.

The man’s body is due to be taken to the city morgue for a post mortem examination.