A BOY fired two shots into a house in Limerick city just weeks after his 14th birthday because he “felt like it”, a court heard yesterday.
The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told gardaí after his arrest that he “usually shoots” with his left hand.
The 14-year-old had smoked “a few joints” and had drunk a few cans of beer before he shot at the house on St Munchin’s Street in St Mary’s Park on April 2nd last.
He pleaded guilty at the Circuit Criminal Court in Limerick to possession of a sawn-off shotgun and three 12-gauge shotgun cartridges on that date. He also admitted causing criminal damage to a car and the front door of a house.
A co-accused, Michael Ryan (19), of St Munchin’s Street, St Mary’s Park, pleaded guilty to the same charges.
Det Gda Gerard Cleary told the court the pair were identified from CCTV footage taken from cameras installed at the house following previous incidents.
The court also heard that CCTV footage taken from the same house had been used to convict the 14-year-old’s older brother following a previous incident.
According to Garda evidence, the youth and Ryan had been calling the owners of the house “rats” before the night of the shooting.
Judge Carroll Moran was told the 14-year-old was holding the gun and fired two shots, and that Ryan was standing behind him.
When he was questioned by gardaí why he shot at the house, he replied: “Cause I felt like it.”
Defence counsel Brian McInerney said his client was from a very large family and one of a number of children. There was an absence of parental control in his client’s life and he had no male role models.
Judge Moran adjourned sentencing until October 24th.