Gardaí believed imitation gun was real as shots fired on Cork's M8 at officers

Accused shot at pursuing gardaí, crashed through a toll barrier, and then fired more shots

Tommy Mannah faced sentencing on Wednesday at Cork Circuit Criminal Court. He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving at Old Youghal Road and use of an imitation firearm at the M8 motorway. Picture: Cork Courts/file

A 22-year-old man fired shots from what looked like a real handgun at an unarmed garda sergeant before driving off, shooting at pursuing gardaí, crashing through a toll barrier at Watergrasshill and then firing more shots at officers.

Detective Sergeant Kieran O’Sullivan said that gardaí believed the handgun was real throughout the incident and that an expert who examined it said it would not have been possible for someone to know it was a gun capable only of firing pellets.