Locals in the Finglas area of north Dublin gathered to watch in shock yesterday afternoon as the body of a man who was shot dead in the early hours of yesterday was removed from the scene.
Residents of the Casement Park area had earlier attempted to rescue him from his burning car after he was shot at around 4am and an attempt was made to set the vehicle alight.
However, it is believed that the victim was already dead by the time they reached him.
The man, who was sitting in the passenger seat of a black Audi A4 car, died after he was shot in the head at least once in what appears to have been a "gangland" style attack.
His attacker then tried to ignite the car by throwing a flammable liquid at it in an apparent effort to destroy any evidence.
The scene of the crime was cordoned off yesterday afternoon as Garda technical experts examined the scene. Officers have launched a murder investigation.
A blue tarpaulin erected next to the car marked the spot where the dead man's body lay before being removed. The shattered passenger side window of the car was clearly visible, as was extensive fire damage to the inside of the vehicle.
The victim's name has not been released by gardaí, and a postmortem was due to be conducted yesterday.
One resident, Elaine Markey, who lives behind the road where the shooting took place, said she was shocked by the killing.
She had heard nothing despite her window being open during the night. But a friend had told her that he had heard a couple of shots at the time of the attack.
"I heard that two people dragged him out of the car and he was then pronounced dead," she said. "This is very much a place where everyone sticks together . . . we had our window open last night but we never heard a thing."
Officers yesterday appealed for anyone who may have seen the car in the vicinity of Casement Park to contact them. They are also anxious to trace the whereabouts of a silver saloon car which was seen in the area around the time of the attack.
Another local who attended the scene yesterday told The Irish Timesthat the victim was a friend of his, and that the deceased had been visiting his girlfriend's home at the time of the attack. However, this could not be confirmed yesterday.
Gardaí in Dublin are also investigating an earlier shooting incident in the Fairview area of north Dublin.
A spokesman for the Garda press office said a number of shots were fired from a handgun at a 19-year-old man on the Annesley bridge road at approximately 8.30pm on Saturday.
The man, who was cycling along the road at the time, was approached by a lone male. However, he was not injured in the attack.
Commenting on the Finglas shooting, Labour party TD Róisín Shortall said it had "all the hallmarks of a gang-related killing."
"While the full details are not yet known . . . it provides further evidence of the ease with which criminal gangs can access deadly weapons and of their willingness to use them," she said.