PO raid killings - Innocent people must be a priority

IT was inevitable, given the recent increase of serious crime involving guns, that somebody would be killed in the course of a robbery and, unfortunately, it happened yesterday during the attempted robbery at the post office in Lusk.

In fact, so prevalent have such attacks become on post offices that Irish Postmasters Union general secretary John Kane said that many members of the profession had been forced to quit through fear for their own safety and that of their families.

The increasing use of firearms is reflected in the fact that it emerged last year the use had increased by a worrying 60%.

Quite properly, a chief superintendent has been appointed to investigate the shooting of the two men because, while Taoiseach Bertie Ahern believed gardaí fired in self-defence, it had not been established by late last afternoon whether the raiders had fired.

While the gardaí were confronted with a serious situation, as they often are, the safety of people innocently becoming involved in such a scene must be a priority.

The call by Amnesty International for an independent inquiry might be more appropriate for another day, depending on the findings of the garda investigation, which, presumably, will be made public.