A man has been shot and critically injured in an attack believed to be linked to the Kinahan-Hutch feud.
The shooting occurred on Clonshaugh Road, Coolock, north Dublin, just after 1.30pm.
Gardaí said the attack occurred at a service station on the stretch of road that leads to the M50. Witnesses have told gardaí they saw a black car leaving the scene after the attack.
The victim is from the north inner city but had also been living in Coolock, and is a close associate of the Hutch family.
He was particularly close to Gary Hutch whose shooting dead by the Kinahan gang in Spain in September, 2015, began what has become known as the Kinahan-Hutch feud.
However, all but one of the 11 gun murders to date have been inflicted by the Kinahan gang on the Hutch family and their associates.
The man wounded in Wednesday’s attack is aged 30 years and has been well known to the Garda for more than a decade. Because he was so close to Gary Hutch he is regarded by the Garda as being the most at-risk associate of the Hutch family in the feud.
When he appeared in court in recent years and faced a driving ban he asked the judge to spare him such a sanction because his life was a risk. He argued being banned from driving would put him in an even more dangerous situation.
The victim was reportedly wearing a bulletproof vest when he was shot.
Gardaí believe the Kinahan gang have previously tried to bring in a gunman from continental Europe to shoot him.
Detectives believe he had fled to Northern Ireland after being warned his life was in danger. The Kinahan gang intended to track him to the North where a paid killer was to shoot him dead.
However, the suspected conspirators were under surveillance and gardaí foiled the murder plan.
He was one of a number of people arrested in 2009 about a robbery in March 2009 at Bank of Ireland, College Green, in which €7.6 million was stolen.
A former member of the Kinahan gang, he fell out with the cartel after living in Spain with Gary Hutch for a period.
The injured man was taken from the scene of the shooting and is in hospital. He is believed to be critically injured.
‘Complete shock’
Local Fianna Fáil councillor Paul McAuliffe expressed his shock and outrage at the attack.
“The entire local community has been left in complete shock by the shamelessness of this daylight shooting.
“Let us make no mistake – this was an attack that put the safety of an entire community at risk and carried out by those that do not put a value on human life.
“A dangerous shooting like this has an enormous impact on the local community, which has already suffered a spate of crime in recent years. The reality is that residents do not feel as safe as they used to.
Gardaí have asked witnesses to come forward and urged anyone with information to contact Ballymun Garda station on 016664400, the Garda Confidential Telephone Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.
