The victim of Tuesday night's shooting in the Clontarf area of Dublin was the second member of his family to be killed this year, in what is thought to be the latest development in an ongoing gangland feud.
Noel Roche (27), a drug dealer from the Crumlin area of Dublin, died after being shot in the head by a number of bullets at around 10.30pm on Tuesday.
He was a front-seat passenger in a car when shots were fired at him, apparently from another car or a motorcycle.
On March 9th his brother John Roche (25) was shot dead in the Kilmainham area of Dublin.
The latest shooting brings to seven the number of people thought to have been killed as a result of a four-year territorial feud between two drug gangs on the south side of the capital.
It has prompted fears of further retaliation.
Gardaí in Raheny were last night continuing their efforts to locate the driver of the dark Ford Mondeo car in which Roche was a passenger.
The driver escaped on foot after the attack and is known to have called to at least two houses in the Clontarf Road area.
Blood was discovered at one of the houses, and at the scene of the shooting near the Yacht pub on Clontarf Road, indicating that he may have also been injured in the attack. However, the extent of his injuries is not known.
The driver is in his early 30s and also from the Crumlin area. Gardaí visited a number houses and other places in Crumlin yesterday in an attempt to encourage him to come forward.
Gardaí also conducted technical examinations on a beige Peugeot car found abandoned in the Furry Park area of Killester. Two men were seen running from the stolen car four minutes after the shooting.
Detectives have not yet received any firm clues as to the identity of Roche's killers.
Chief Supt Peter Maguire, who is heading the investigation, last night appealed for any witnesses to the attack to come forward.
"We have coped with these challenges before. But we need people to be accessible to us," he told The Irish Times.
"I want to encourage people to put their confidence in An Garda Síochána and in the institutions of the State."
Gardaí are also investigating links between Tuesday's shooting and the murders of Darren Geoghegan (26), Drimnagh, and Gavin Byrne (30), in Firhouse, last Sunday.
Both men were known to be involved in the four-year feud between two southside drug gangs. They had previously been stopped by gardaí and found to be wearing bullet-proof vests.
However, investigators remained unsure last night whether Roche, who was sitting in the passenger seat of the car, was approached by his assailant in a car or on a motorbike.
It is likely that a number of witnesses would have been in cars stopped at traffic lights in front of Roche's car.
Supt Nicholas Conneely of Raheny Garda station, said gardaí had received responses from local residents.
But it was surprising, and perhaps disappointing, that few if any motorists travelling in front or behind the car, or pedestrians, had come forward, he said.
Meanwhile, locals in the Clontarf Road area where the attack occurred described their shock at Tuesday night's killing.
Stephen Mangan (30), who lives in a rented house a few doors up from the scene of the shooting, said he heard what he thought were "bangers" at around 10.15pm on Tuesday.
"People are shocked, really," he told The Irish Times.
"This is quite a sleepy neighbourhood, so people are in utter shock and disbelief."
Gang Feud: The Story So Far
1 August 5th, 2001:
Declan Gavin (20), Drimnagh, Dublin, was fatally stabbed at a bus-stop near Crumlin Shopping Centre.
He was described as a drug dealer by gardaí.
2 July 16th, 2002:
Joseph Rattigan (18), Drimnagh, was shot in the head while walking in Crumlin.
Rattigan was suspected of involvement in the murder of Gavin.
3 February 25th, 2004:
Paul Warren (24), St Teresa's Gardens, was shot dead at Grey's pub in Dublin's south inner city.
It has been alleged that a gang leader orchestrated the shooting from Mountjoy Prison.
4 March 9th, 2005:
John Roche (24), Drimnagh, was shot dead when walking on Military Road in Kilmainham.
5 November 13th, 2005:
Gavin Byrne (30), Firhouse, and Darren Geoghegan (26), Drimnagh, were shot dead as they sat in their car.
They were known to be involved in a four-year territorial feud between two drugs gangs on the south side of the city.
6 November 15th, 2005:
Noel Roche (27), whose brother John was murdered in March, was shot dead as he sat in the passenger seat of a car in Clontarf on Tuesday night.