Three held over Dublin gangland killing

Three people are still being questioned by garadí tonight after being arrested over the fatal shooting of a man in Tallaght last night.

The killing of 27-year-old Shay O'Byrne has been linked to a feud between rival drug gangs in the Crumlin and Drimnagh suburbs of Dublin. A 26-year-old woman was shot in the leg during the attack.

A Garda spokesman said the three arrests were made late last night in the Crumlin area. "All 3 people arrested are male and they are being detained at Rathfarnham and Tallaght Garda Stations under section 30 of The Offences Against The State Act," he added.

One man is in his late teens, while the other two are in their mid 20s.

The shooting in the Tymon estate in Tallaght, west Dublin, is the 11th murder in the Crumlin-Drimnagh feud since 2000, and the eighth gangland murder in Dublin so far this year.

Mr O'Byrne and his partner were sitting in a parked car outside a house at Tymon North Park just before 8.30pm when a gunman got out of another car, approached their vehicle and opened fire with a handgun. It is believe that the man was shot in the back as he ran away from the gunman.

The woman is believed to have struggled with the gunman during the incident. Gardaí are investigating whether the couple was waiting to meet somebody. A gun was found at the scene.

The woman injured in last night’s shooting was in a relationship with Mr O'Byrne. Her injuries are not believed to be life-threatening and she is being treated at Tallaght hospital.

Gardaí later said a man was spotted running away from the scene on Tymon North Park before being driven away in a silver-coloured Nissan Primera car on Tymon North Gardens. The car had a partial registration number of 00D and was seen in nearby Castlelawn Estate a short time later.

Another car, a sky-blue Volkswagen Pasat, with a partial registration number of 06WW was also seen in Tymon North Gardens at the time of the shooting.

The gunman is believed to be between 25 and 30 years of age, 172cm (5 feet 8 inches) tall with dark hair. He was dressed in black and had a hood. The other man is believed to be in his mid to late 30's, 172cm tall, with a strong build and dark tight cut hair.

Gardaí now fear the relative lull in hostilities in the Crumlin-Drimnagh feud in recent months will be followed by further violence. The area around last night’s murder scene was sealed off by gardaí, and members of the Garda Technical Bureau will this morning begin an examination. The State Pathologist’s Office has also been informed.