ONE MAN was killed and another critically injured in a gun attack in Dublin last night in the first gangland shooting of the new year. The gunman opened fire on the two victims as they were sitting in their car, a black Volvo with UK registered number plates, on Langrishe Place, a cul de sac off Summerhill in Dublin's north inner city.
Gardaí believe the killer was in the car with the men when he opened fire. Both victims were shot in the head.
The killer then ran from the scene. A handgun was found at Gloucester Diamond near the scene and gardai believe it is the murder weapon.
The car with the wounded men went out on to the busy Summerhill road, colliding with crash barriers in the centre of the road.
Gardaí were called out to a suspected road traffic collision at 8.40pm but discovered the shot men in the car when they arrived at the scene. Both of the victims were rushed by ambulance to the nearby Mater and St James's hospitals.
One of the men was pronounced dead at 9.15pm at the Mater. The other victim was in a critical condition in St James's late last night with Garda sources saying he would be lucky to survive.
While the murder investigation is in its early stages, gardaí believe the murder is linked to the city's drugs trade. The dead man is believed to be a 35-year-old originally from Ballymun but with recent addresses in the north inner city and Finglas. His identity had been unofficially confirmed by Garda sources but had not been formally released. He was a well-known drug dealer and had a number of convictions for heroin dealing going back to the mid-1990s. Despite spending a number of years in prison he remained active on the drugs scene.
Last summer, the man was caught with €20,000 in cash that was confiscated in the courts after gardai and Revenue officials gave evidence it was linked to the drugs trade.
The deceased was a former associate of murdered gang boss Martin "Marlo" Hyland and was arrested in relation to a suspected plan to kill Hyland just weeks before he was shot in December 2006.
The man who died last night survived an attempt on his life in October.
His car was shot at as he was driving in the Hampton Wood Estate in Finglas. However, while the vehicle was hit, the man escaped uninjured. The man who survived last nights shooting is an associate of the dead man. He is also from Dublin and believed to be in his late 20s.
Local residents at the scene last night said they were not surprised by what had happened saying "theres feuding all the time, we're used to it by now".
Gardaí are also investigating a separate shooting which took place last night in North Co Dublin. It is understood a man was shot in the neck near Kinsealy.