Locals on 'tenterhooks' after spate of arson attacks and beatings
A forensic investigator at the scene in Blanchardstown, Dublin, where Jason Hennessy Sr, a father and member of a well-known crime gang based in Corduff, was fatally shot on Christmas Eve. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire
Locals in a west Dublin area are on “tenterhooks” after a spate of arson attacks and public beatings suspected of being carried out in retaliation for the Christmas Eve gun attack at a restaurant in Blanchardstown, in which two people died.
Local sources estimate that up to seven homes have been burned out or damaged in the area.
Garda HQ said officers in Blanchardstown are investigating fires in the area and believe they “are connected”.
Some local sources said four homes were targeted and that three other properties were damaged by fire, but this is not yet confirmed.
There are reports of a “disturbing” video of a young boy, said to be aged just nine, being beaten up on the street in the area and that this video was sent to his mother as part of the attacks.
It is understood gardaí are aware of this video, but are trying to establish if it is authentic and what it is connected to.
In another case, a woman was badly assaulted outside her home after she fled an arson attack on the house.
Gardaí are investigating this case.
In addition, an image purporting to show paramilitaries, along with a pistol, was posted online with a threat to the crime bosses suspected of being behind the violence.
While the text with the threat may be genuine, the authenticity of the image is in doubt and gardaí suspect the photograph is old and was “repurposed” to go with the text.
A number of local sources said that in addition to families affected by the fires leaving the area, several other families have fled for fear of becoming a target.
The attacks are being linked to the shooting at Browne’s Steakhouse in Blanchardstown village on December 24 last, where Jason Hennessy Sr, a father and member of a well-known crime gang based in Corduff, was fatally shot.
Gunman Tristan Sherry, 26, was fatally assaulted in the restaurant after he opened fire.
It is understood that one man involved in the Corduff gang was arrested last Sunday, but this arrest is not thought to be linked to the fires.
Sources are saying that families “tangentially” linked to Sherry are being targeted, including people not involved in crime.
“There are huge fears in the community,” one source said.
“People have left their homes in fear of being targeted next.”
A second source said: “People are really on tenterhooks now, they are very nervous. It’s a lawless situation.”
The source said “there are too few guards” compared to previous years, though Garda sources point to competing demands.
There are reports that a small group of young people, including teenagers, are going around on electric bikes carrying out the arson attacks and beatings on behalf of the crime gang.
In relation to the fires, Garda HQ said: “Gardaí are investigating a number of incidents of criminal damage by fire at buildings in the wider Corduff area.
"Gardaí are of the belief that these incidents are connected.”
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