A man in his 20s was being questioned by gardaí in Limerick last night following the recovery of a firearm in Southill, the second weapon seized in the same area in less than 48 hours.
Gardaí on patrol in the John Carew Park noticed the man and another individual who were both wearing hoods and acting suspiciously shortly before 5am yesterday.
It is understood a chase ensued and the firearm was thrown away by one of the men who was subsequently arrested.
He was being held for questioning last night under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act at Roxboro Garda station. A Garda spokesman indicated that further arrests were imminent.
This was the second firearm seized by gardaí in the Southill area in two days. Last Monday at lunchtime a shotgun was recovered following searches in the O'Malley Park area.
Neither of the weapons seized in recent days was used in Sunday night's shooting of five-year-old Jordan Crawford, according to gardaí.
The boy, who was still recovering yesterday at the Mid Western Regional Hospital, was shot in the thigh in a feud-related gun attack outside his grandmother's house in O'Malley Park at 7.30pm.
His mother Olivia Crawford said yesterday that she was hopeful her son would be out of hospital before the weekend. However, he was still unable to walk on his injured leg.
The five-year-old has also told his mother that he is too scared to go back to their home in O'Malley Park in case he gets shot again.
"He's saying he won't go back because he's terrified of being shot again. Imagine for a child of five to be saying that, it's just awful," said Ms Crawford.
Ms Crawford has already sent her nine-year-old son, Dylan, to stay with friends and she plans to move out of Limerick with her family once Jordan is discharged from hospital.
"We can't go back there. The children are terrified and I'd be too afraid for them," she said.