Road rage 'less likely' cause of man's fatal stabbing

A father of two who was stabbed to death in a laneway in Dublin may not have been the victim of road rage as had been first suggested, the Garda has said.

Paul Keegan (42), from Inchicore, was stabbed at least four times in the head and chest in a laneway off Beechfield Road in Walkinstown on Monday at about 9pm. He died a short time afterwards at St James's Hospital.

Mr Keegan was found bleeding to death in front of the Nissan Pathfinder 4X4 which was parked halfway down the lane.

The lane is at the back of the houses that front on to Cherryfield Road.

It is likely that he was stabbed to death by someone who had also driven down the narrow lane and who escaped by car afterwards.

The victim was accompanied by another man who ran into a neighbour's house and raised the alarm. The man, who was slightly injured in the attack, has been interviewed by the Garda.

The discovery of a machine pistol, which had traces of blood, close to the scene has led the Garda to believe that the man's death may have been more than a road rage incident.

Garda spokesman Supt Kevin Donohoe said that it was too early to say if Mr Keegan was the victim of a gangland-style murder, but the possibility that it was simply a road rage incident "is looking less likely at this stage".

When asked if the victim had come to the attention of gardaí before, Supt Donohoe replied: "Whether or not he is known to the gardaí, which is a euphemism for something else, is known to the investigators."

Detectives sealed off the laneway and the nearby park.

The scene was preserved and a full crime scene investigation team attended the scene last night and at first light yesterday morning.

A postmortem was also carried out yesterday by the State Pathologist's Office and the results are expected to be made available later today.

The laneway where Mr Keegan was stabbed has many lock-up garages and gardaí are appealing to any witnesses who may have seen something on Monday night, because details of the incident are sketchy at present.

"We're satisfied that there probably was another car, but the number of occupants, descriptions of them and any accurate description of the car is just not coming at the moment," Supt Donohoe said.

"A lot of people in the Beechfield Road, Cherryfield Road and Cromwellsfort Road would have business in the area overlooking it from the rear and accessing lock-ups. It is a good possibility that somebody was around there at the time.

"Anything that happened just before the incident is of huge relevance to us and that's why we are telling anybody who was in that general area between 8.30pm and 9pm to contact us," Supt Donohoe added.

The investigation is being led at Sundrive Garda station by Supt Bart Faulkner.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Garda on 01-666 6675.