A criminal shot dead close to his child’s school in north Dublin this morning was facing feud-related criminal charges.
Benny Whitehouse (36), was ambushed on Clonard Street, Balbriggan at 9am.
He had just climbed back into his car with his wife after they had left their child to school when a gunman run up to the side of the vehicle and discharged a volley of shots through the driver’s door and window.
Mr Whitehouse tried to run but collapsed on the pavement as he stumbled from his VW Polo and died, despite efforts by passersby to save him. His wife was also shot in the leg.
Three weeks ago, Mr Whitehouse was sent forward for trial on charges of criminal damage, violent disorder and endangerment. The charges all stemmed from his role in one of two attacks outside St Peter and Paul’s National School on Chapel Street in Balbriggan, last November.
The attacks were part of a feud between rival factions also involved in the supply of drugs.
In one incident, a man managed to drive off with his wife and two children in his car as a five-man gang ran towards the vehicle after waiting in the back of a van for him to arrive to bring his children to school.
Days later, in a revenge attack, a group of men used baseball bats to smash up a van near the school and a number of properties were also attacked.
Mr Whitehouse, a member of the Traveller community with an address at Westbrook Rise in Balbriggan, was involved in that feud and gardaí believe his murder represents an escalation in the tit-for-tat attacks.
The Garda increased patrols, including some by armed members, near the school late last year, but these had been scaled down of late. Funding for such ongoing operations is no longer available.
While Mr Whitehouse was leaving his child to school today, he had parked his car some distance from the entrance, possibly in a bid to vary his movements and make it more difficult for his rivals to attack him.
Gardaí had informed him and others involved in the feud that their lives were in danger.
The attack on him and its aftermath, including his remains lying on the pavement covered by a blanket, were visible to passersby.
Mr Whitehouse was one of the first people in the State to be convicted of driving under the influence of drugs in 2001. He has since been before the courts on for a variety of offences including illegally hunting wild animals with his dogs and public order crime while intoxicated.
His vehicle and the scene where he was shot were forensically examined today and gardaí are hoping to interview his widow tomorrow.
The dead man’s remains were taken from the scene for a postmortem after undergoing a preliminary examination by the pathologist at the spot where he died.
