Two men were left badly shaken yesterday when shots were fired at a parked car near where they were walking in Mahon on the southside of Cork city.
The men were walking along St Michael's Drive shortly before 2am when a silver Honda Civic parked near them.
The driver of the vehicle fired a number of shots at a nearby parked car. He then drove off in the direction of Skehard Road.
The parked car was unoccupied at the time of the incident. It is understood the two men were not the targets of the shooting. They were uninjured in the incident.
The silver car was found burned out in the Marina area an hour later.
The scene of the shooting was preserved for technical examination. The two vehicles will be forensically examined.
A Garda spokesperson at Anglesea Street regional headquarters said: “We are dealing with this matter very seriously. There was a conference this morning involving officers from the district and an incident room has been set up with a dedicated team of detectives involved.
Garda investigation
“The scene of the shooting at St Michael’s Lawn and at the Marina where the burnt-out Honda Civic which had 99-MO plates [was found] were both preserved this morning for examinations on the vehicles.
“We are appealing for anyone who may have seen the car in the area to contact us on 021-452200.”
Councillor Chris O’Leary of Sinn Féin described the incident as “very serious”.
“Shots were discharged in a highly populated area with lots of young families living there.
“I am asking people to co-operate with the gardaí in their investigation and to help them in any way they can to help them solve this very serious crime,” he said.