Gardaí in Limerick are bracing for reprisal attacks following a hit-and-run incident that killed a young mother in the town of Rathkeale at the weekend.
Marguerita Sheridan (21) died after a silver Ford Transit van ploughed into a set of gates she was standing beside on Saturday afternoon. The driver did not stop to render assistance and fled the scene.
Gardaí are investigating whether Ms Sheridan was struck deliberately as part of a feud between two factions of a large family.
It is not clear the assailant intended to kill or seriously harm the woman. It is believed the van struck a set of gates that then struck Ms Sheridan, pinning her to the wall. The investigation has yet to be upgraded to a murder inquiry.
One line of inquiry is the occupants of the van were travelling to a property to damage it as part of the feud when Ms Sheridan was struck.
Dozens of extra gardaí, including armed officers, are to be assigned to the town over the Christmas week to prevent the violence from escalating further.
This is in addition to the significant extra garda resources that are typically assigned to the town over the Christmas period to deal with public order and road traffic incidents.
The fatal incident occurred at the entrance to a property in Rathkeale town centre at around 2.15pm on Saturday.
[ Young woman killed in Limerick hit and run gave birth to baby son three weeks agoOpens in new window ]
Locals rendered assistance to Ms Sheridan at the scene. She was taken to University Hospital Limerick, where she was pronounced dead a short time later.
A number of gardaí were deployed to the hospital on Saturday night, including gardaí from the Armed Support Unit, amid fears of further violence there.
Tensions are particularly high this year, with several violent incidents believed to be linked to feuds between families taking place in recent weeks.
Gardaí on Sunday continued to search for the silver Ford Transit and its driver. A forensic examination of the scene and local house-to-house inquiries were under way.
Gardaí have appealed for witnesses to the incident to come forward, including those with dashcam footage.
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