Murder inquiry under way after Sligo shooting

Gardaí have begun a murder inquiry after a man (26) was shot in the head in Sligo town yesterday afternoon.

Gardaí have begun a murder inquiry after a man (26) was shot in the head in Sligo town yesterday afternoon.

The victim has been named locally as Hughie McGinley (26) from Connaughton Road in Sligo.

Mr McGinley was attacked as he sat in a parked van on Grattan Street at around 3pm. Gardaí are examining the scene of the shooting and have sealed off the street.

A motorcycle pulled up close to the victim's van; the pillion passenger dismounted, crossed the road and fired one shot into the van.

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The dead man was brought to Sligo General Hospital, where he died at around 10pm last night.

The motorbike was later found burned-out at Carrowmore three miles outside Sligo.

State Pathologist Marie Cassidy is due to conduct a postmortem later today.

The attack came less than three weeks after another shooting in Sligo and is believed to be related to a feud between two local families. There have been eight shootings in Sligo in the past two years linked to the feud.

The victim was a settled Traveller who was injured in another shooting last year when he and his brother were attacked.