Extra gardaí drafted in to manage house siege

Around 50 gardaí were drafted into Gort, Co Galway today to try to end a tense siege involving an armed man who barricaded himself inside his home.

Several shots were fired from the house, in an estate near the centre of the town, after gardaí were called to the area at around 11.30pm last night.

No-one has been injured in the stand-off, but two Garda patrol cars were hit by bullets.

A trained negotiator is at the scene but so far the man, in his 40s and a native of Gort, has refused any offer of contact.

The garda Emergency Response Unit, Air Unit, dog teams and an ambulance crew have all been called to the town and remain on standby.

But Superintendent Kevin Donohoe, head of the Garda Press Office, said officers were treating the situation with great care.

“From our point of view we would certainly ask him if he is listening or watching that we are absolutely anxious to resolve this incident peacefully,” the Superintendent said.

“We will deal with it as we have done, in a very sensitive way. We have absolutely no gameplan to forcibly enter the house.”

It is understood local gardaí are in charge on the ground.

Officers were called to the house late last night after a domestic incident. A number of shots were fired at two garda patrol cars parked outside and street lights were also damaged.

It is understood the man has two legally held firearms in his possession.

The man’s wife and two children left the house on Crow Street a short while after gardaí arrived, and a stand-off continued through the night.

Nearby roads in the estate were sealed off and around 100 neighbours were evacuated from the area and moved to a local hotel at around 5am.

It is understood the man’s brother attempted to make contact with him but was unsuccessful.

Several shots were fired, including one inside the house, with the last reports of gunfire at around 2am.

Gardaí insisted, however, that the man’s actions are completely out of character and locals claimed a death in the family may have sparked his erratic behaviour.

But Supt Donohoe said he did not believe the man intended to injure anyone.

“During the course of firing shots a couple of patrol cars were damaged and some other street lights and things were hit,” the Superintendent said.

“We are absolutely satisfied and can confirm that nobody has been injured in this incident and we are satisfied that this gentleman did not have any intention to cause any injury because we are satisfied he has the capacity to do that if he so wanted to.”