Gardai are understood to be investigating a possible link between the murder of a 36-year-old man who was shot dead in his west Dublin home early this morning and a drugs feud
The man, named locally as Tony Creed, was shot in an upstairs bedroom of his home in Westbourne Drive at around 1.15am by a single gunman.
The gunman is believed to have entered the house after a family member answered a call to the front door. There were three children - all under the age of 11 - in the house at the time of the shooting.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was taken to the City Morgue, where post mortem was being carried out this afternoon by State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy
The attacker escaped in the direction of Westbourne Avenue towards the Nangor Road. The killing came hours after an armed gang was foiled trying to rob Lusk post office in north Co Dublin, leading to the shooting dead of two raiders.
There have been at least nine murders involving guns so far this year, most of them gang-related.
Mr McDowell told the Dáil last week he had agreed with the Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy to roll out "Operation Anvil", which would "strike at the heart" of Dublin's growing gun culture.
It is to be funded by an allocation off funds from the Department of Justice budget. The money will go towards paying for 15,000 hours of additional Garda overtime in Dublin each week.