A DUBLIN man was in a "critical condition" in hospital last night after being shot by armed gardai in the city. Mr John Morris (26), from Tallaght, is believed to have been placed on a life support machine.
He sustained head and abdomen injuries during the shooting, which took place at about 11.30 a.m. yesterday.
Mr Morris was shot a number of times when armed detectives foiled a raid by three men at the Goldenbridge industrial estate in Inchicore. A pistol and a knife were recovered at the scene, along with a bag believed to contain about £1,000 in cash.
Gardai said the two detectives encountered the raiders at the rear of the premises on the industrial estate occupied by Newspread, the newspaper and magazine distributors. Two men were emerging from the building when they were confronted by two detectives from the Garda's National Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
According to the Garda, one of the raiders was brandishing a pistol as the detectives approached. The Garda spokesman said the detectives identified themselves as armed gardai and warned the raider to drop his weapon.
When he pointed it at them, the detectives opened fire, the spokesman said. No shots were fired by the raiders. The Garda said a "significant" sum of money was recovered at the scene.
The raider who was critically injured was taken to St James's Hospital but was then moved to Beaumont, which has a neurological unit.
Two other men found by detectives at the scene were taken into custody. They are being held under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act which allows detention without charge for 48 hours. A third man was arrested in the city later in the afternoon.
The Garda has started an internal investigation into the incident, a routine procedure when any officer discharges a weapon.
It appears that as many as four shots may have been fired by gardai during the encounter. Garda Headquarters was unable to say if the raider's gun was loaded.
The Garda said the raid was disrupted due to the vigilance of the two detectives, who were driving through the area when they saw the occupants of a van "acting suspiciously" on Tyrconnell Road, the road nearest the industrial estate. They noticed that one man in the van was wearing a balaclava.
The detectives followed the van into the industrial estate to the rear of the Newspread building, where the shooting took place almost immediately.
According to one account, the raiders pulled a woman from a van outside the building and forced her at gunpoint to lie on the ground as they went to enter the premises. However, this was not confirmed by the Garda.
The door to the Newspread building where the shooting occurred leads to the "returns" office, where news vendors bring back unsold copies of newspapers and magazines. The office does not normally deal with large amounts of cash and money owed to vendors is usually given in the form of a credit note. About 100 people work at the building.