Gun victim fighting for life after being shot in head and upper body in gangland attack

Gardaí are trying to establish if a gun attack that has left a known criminal fighting for his life was linked to another shooting two weeks ago.

The victim of the latest attack was shot in the head and, while he remains on a life support machine in hospital, Garda sources have said his chances of survival are “very slim”.

The 45-year-old was singled out in the attack in west Dublin late on Thursday night and shot once in the head and three times in the body as he sat on a wall outside a busy shopping centre.

The victim, a convicted armed robber who is from Finglas in north Dublin, has been known to gardaí for more than two decades and has served a number of prison sentences.

Under surveillance
Gardaí believe he was shot by criminals familiar with his movements and who had him under surveillance in the days leading up to the shooting.

They believe he may have been blamed by other criminals for a shooting outside the Universal Warrior gym in the Ballyboggan Business Park, Finglas on May 15th. On that occasion the 32-year-old owner was wounded four times as he arrived for work but survived the attack.

In the latest incident, the victim was sitting on a wall outside St Dominic’s Shopping Centre, Mountain Park Road, Tallaght, Dublin 24, when two men on a motorbike pulled up at 9.50pm.

One of the men opened fire, wounding the victim, before he was driven from the scene on the back of the motorbike by his accomplice.

It was a warm and bright night and there were a large number of people in the vicinity of the shopping centre, many of whom ran to the victim’s aid as he lay on the pavement wounded. He was taken by ambulance to Tallaght hospital, where he has undergone surgery and is now critically ill.

Supt Dave Taylor said the crime scene was close to the N81, the main Tallaght to Blessington road, and it was possible the motorbike may have driven away in that direction.

"We are appealing to people who were out during last night; if you passed by a motorcycle that looking back now might have been suspicious please come forward," he said.

Remains found
The scene is not far from Killinarden Hill, where the decomposed remains of gang member Alan Desmond (38) were found by children two weeks ago. Desmond, who had been shot in the head, and the recent victim were known to each other.