A MAN in his early 80s who lives alone is understood to have shot a man at the gate of his house in Birr, Co Offaly, late on Sunday night.
The elderly man, Eamon Sutton, called the emergency services moments after the shooting at his home on Wood Row.
The injured man, who is in his 20s and understood to be from Poland, was removed to hospital. Gardaí subsequently seized a legally held shotgun.
The victim of the shooting is resident in Ireland but is not believed to be living in the Birr area. He was taken to the Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore, suffering from a gunshot wound to his right leg. His condition was described as stable yesterday.
Mr Sutton is believed to have moved from the countryside in the belief that it would be safer to live in a town. His home is located at the end of a laneway which has three houses.
Blood stains marked the wall at the side of his house yesterday and congealed blood remained dotted on the ground a short distance from the gate.
Outlining the circumstances of the shooting, Supt David Kavanagh said: “Just after midnight last night gardaí here in Birr responded to a treble nine call. They went to a scene at Wood Row just off Mill Street here in the centre of Birr town.
“There they found a young man in his mid 20s with injuries to his right leg. The scene was preserved and the young man was removed to the Midland General Hospital at Tullamore by ambulance. The scene was technically examined this morning at first light.”
He said it was too early to say what the motive for the shooting might have been. “We haven’t had the opportunity to speak to the injured man, he is being treated at hospital. We hope to speak to him tomorrow perhaps, at the earliest. There have been no arrests yet.”
Jim Lynch of Mill Street Cleaners said he was “disappointed” for Mr Sutton, who was a regular customer at the launderette. He described the area as very quiet. “We’ve never had any problems.”
Catherine Hayden said her elderly neighbour was “pleasant and courteous”. She heard the shot shortly before midnight. “I couldn’t determine what the bang was and what direction it came from.”
She said that because of strong wind and rain, she hadn’t heard anything else until the gardaí arrived. She described Birr as a good town and said the local people were “truly very good”.
Gardaí in Birr are seeking to speak to anybody who was in the Connaught Street, Mill Street or the Wilmer Road carpark on Sunday night between 11.30pm and midnight. Anyone with information is asked to contact Birr Garda station on 057-9169710.