George Nkencho queued at post office just after assaulting staff at adjoining supermarket, inquest told

One witness while he did not believe Mr Nkencho was under the influence of anything, he felt he was 'not in the right frame of mind' and 'looked lost'

George Nkencho was shot dead by gardaí at his home in Clonee, in West Dublin on 30 December 2020

An inquest into the death of George Nkencho heard he queued for almost 10 minutes in a post office just after he had carried out an unprovoked assault and threatened staff with a knife in an adjoining supermarket.

Several witnesses told a sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court how Mr Nkencho had queued without incident in the post office after he had caused a commotion at the Eurospar store in Hartstown on December 30, 2020.

Mr Nkencho, aged 27, suffered fatal gunshot wounds after a stand-off subsequently developed between him and members of the Garda Armed Support Unit outside his family home at Manorfields Drive, Clonee, Co Dublin, a short time later.

The young man, the eldest of five siblings whose family originally come from Nigeria, was pronounced dead a short time later at Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown.

Postmistress, Martina Sheils, told the hearing that she saw customers leaving the queue for the post office around 12 midday due to hearing angry shouting in the adjoining supermarket. Ms Sheils said a man she was serving also left as he said he knew the individual causing the commotion.

She said the customer returned to say he had sorted it out and had told Mr Nkencho he could not be behaving like that in the post office. The postmistress said other customers were nervous when Mr Nkencho then joined and waited in the queue for the post office for nine minutes before she served him.

Ms Sheils said he was looking for his social welfare payment. However, she said Mr Nkencho had been given two weeks’ pay on December 21 and told him he was not due his next payment until the following Monday.

The postmistress said he was fine and had no issue when told that his next payment was not due until five days later. “He just said OK and walked out,” she recalled.

Another witness, Gavin Pritchard, told the inquest that he had been queuing in the post office when he saw a man “screaming and shouting” but “not making sense”. He gave evidence that he realised that he knew the individual and approached him saying: “It’s Gav. You know me.” 

George Nkencho's mother, Blessing, arrives at the Dublin District Coroner’s Court for the second day of the inquest into his death. Photo: Leah Farrell / © RollingNews.ie

CCTV footage shown to the coroner and jury recorded Mr Pritchard bringing Mr Nkencho outside the store and appearing to calm him down. Mr Pritchard said Mr Nkencho seemed to recognise him and stated he just wanted to go to the post office.

He recalled that the deceased seemed to calm down and joined the queue in the post office. Mr Pritchard admitted that something didn’t seem right with Mr Nkencho.

However, while he did not believe Mr Nkencho was under the influence of anything, he felt he was “not in the right frame of mind” and “looked lost”. Mr Pritchard said he had last previously seen Mr Nkencho in 2014 when they were both completing an FAI coaching course where he recalled the deceased as “a quiet lad”. 

A butcher working in the Eurospar, Gerard Doran, said he had witnessed the incident after seeing the store’s assistant manager, Wayne Swords, “holding his face with blood everywhere”. Mr Doran said Mr Nkencho was “very agitated and angry” and behaving in “an angry, menacing manner”. 

He recalled that the deceased had put his hand in his pocket several times but had not taken anything out. Mr Doran said he was “amazed” to see Mr Nkencho join the queue in the post office and thought it was “unbelievable” that he had returned to the post office after having been brought outside the store by another member of the public.

The Eurospar manager, Niall Kinahan, told the inquest that he was concerned from Mr Nkencho’s body language that he might turn on him or others. Mr Kinahan gave evidence that he had stood at the entrance to the post office to try and gesture at other customers to leave the queue and to keep others from joining it.

In reply to questions from the coroner, Myra Cullinane, he said he had allowed Mr Nkencho to join the queue in the post office because of his demeanour.

Mr Kinahan said the deceased had been “pacing and bouncing around” and making grunting noises outside the store beforehand, while his eyes were “big and bulbous”.  

He added:
He was definitely on edge.

The store manager said he also gestured to Mr Nkencho that it was OK and “to work away”. Mr Kinahan said he knew Mr Nkencho to see as a customer from numerous visits to the store when he recalled that he used to appear “somewhat lifeless or on medication”. 

A customer, George Melia, said he was aware something was not right when he entered the Eurospar store as there were anxious looks on the faces of others who were all staring in the same direction. Mr Melia said he passed Mr Nkencho and they both looked at each other without saying anything.

As he was leaving the Hartstown Shopping Centre, Mr Melia said he saw three Garda patrols heading towards the Eurospar store and gestured to them that Mr Nkencho had gone in another direction.

The inquest before a jury of five women and five men is continuing this afternoon.