Dublin shooting - McDowell must deliver extra gardaí

THE promise of tougher laws against violent crime, reiterated yesterday by Justice Minister Michael McDowell, is to be welcomed in following the weekend killing of an innocent young mother by gunmen who fired at random into a house as people celebrated a birthday.

There could not be a more graphic illustration of the mindless violence now commonplace in urban society than this appalling crime.

Aptly described by Mr McDowell as a “watershed” occurrence in the growing incidence of violent crime, the horrific killing underlines just how cheap life has become on the streets of our cities and towns.