Man who went on shooting rampage in Donegal jailed for eight years

A man who went on a shooting rampage with a high-powered rifle in Glenties, Co Donegal has been jailed for a total of eight years.

Gardaí told how they feared for their lives as Stephen Dowling (25), let off up to nine shots during an hour-long escapade in the early hours of February 22nd, 2020.

Letterkenny Circuit Court heard people ran for cover as the welder marched through the town “like a soldier” shooting at gardaí, civilians, buildings and cars.

Gardaí told the court it was a miracle that nobody was seriously injured or killed.

Sentencing father-of-one Dowling, Judge John Aylmer s referred to the high level of drink and drugs taken by the accused before the incident as an aggravating factor.

Dowling, of Burren Road, Carlow, pleaded guilty to five charges of criminal damage and six charges of having possession of a weapon including a rifle and a hunting knife with intent to endanger life or cause damage to property.

He was visiting Glenties with a cousin and uncle shooting deer after seeing an advert by a farmer who was seeking to have deer on his land culled.

After a day’s shooting during which Dowling shot his first red deer, the men visited several pubs in the town. The men drank several pints of beer and whiskey and Dowling also admitted to taking a half a gramme of cocaine which he bought for €100 in Carlow.

Dowling became increasingly agitated and was refused service in the Highlands Hotel because he was aggressive. The men returned to Marguerite’s Bed and Breakfast, where they were staying, around midnight.

However, Dowling, who was staying in a room of his own, got changed back into his hunting clothes and recovered his high-powered Tikka 3X rifle from his car.

Rampage

He then proceeded to go on the rampage in the town.

At one stage he shot into the back windscreen of a car with the bullet shattering when it hit the passenger seat headrest, flying past the head of the occupant and exiting through the windscreen.

The car’s owner, TJ Kalsi, then tracked Dowling’s movements around the town.

A second man, Edward Gallagher, also got caught up in the crossfire and contacted gardaí with the call being replayed in evidence.

Shots can be heard as Mr Gallagher reports Dowling’s movements with the Garda operator warning him not to follow the shooter.

Mr Gallagher replied: “Trust me, I won’t be following him.”

Detective Enda Jennings, one of two armed gardaí called to the scene to support local officers, told the court he feared for his life as he saw “the madness” in the eyes of the shooter.

The officers finally overpowered Dowling and brought him to Ballyshannon Garda station.

Passing sentence Judge Aylmer said that taking into account all the aggravating factors, the charges merited an initial sentence of 14 years in prison.

However, the judge said there were a wide number of mitigating circumstances in Dowling’s favour. These included that he has no previous convictions, offered an early plea and was very apologetic for his actions to the public and gardaí. He reduced the overall sentence to one of eight years.

He said the issue of Dowling’s gun licence was one for the licensing authority.