Witness recalls Pete Taylor being shot as he ‘made a charge’ at boxing club gunman

Witnesses in the Central Criminal Court have described the moment boxing coach Pete Taylor was shot after he “made a charge” at a gunman who opened fire on a gym session at Bray Boxing Club.

Gerard Cervi, from the East Wall in Dublin 3, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Robert ‘Bobby’ Messett at Bray Boxing Club, Bray Harbour, Co Wicklow on June 5th, 2018. He also pleaded not guilty to the attempted murders of Mr Taylor and Ian Britton on the same date at the same location.

Mr Britton told Paul Murray SC, prosecuting, that he went to the gym early that morning for a training session organised by Mr Taylor. He said he was sitting on the bench press in the gym when the incident “all happened very quickly”.

He said he saw a male figure at the door wearing a yellow top and “maybe tracksuit bottoms”, as well as headwear that was “like a hard hat”. He said he did not see the man’s face but added that the man was wearing gloves and had a gun by his side.

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He said the gun came up quickly and within seconds there was a bang “towards Bobby”. He said there was a gap of around 15 seconds between the first and second shots and that the man doing the shooting had both hands on the gun.

Mr Britton told Mr Murray he believed around 10 shots were fired. He said the whole incident lasted around 30 to 45 seconds. He told the jury he underwent surgery after being wounded and was in hospital for five to six days afterwards.

Loud bang

Alan Hunter told Mr Murray he was in the gym when he heard a loud bang and saw a figure in the door holding a gun. The witness said he ducked down and heard further shots. He said Mr Taylor “made a charge” at the man before he hit the ground seconds later.

Mr Hunter said he could not tell if the shooter was a man or a woman. He said the person was wearing a helmet with a black visor and black gloves.

“They seemed calm,” replied Mr Hunter when asked about the person’s demeanour.

He told the jury that he went into the toilets looking for a phone to call an ambulance, and when he came out he saw Mr Messett. He confirmed to Mr Murray that he told gardaí: “I knew that was it for Bobby.”

Mr Hunter said that he saw Mr Taylor “hobbling”. He said that during the incident, Mr Taylor had been in a corner before he ran at the gunman.

“He made a run and collapsed down on the ground. He obviously got hit with the bullet,” said Mr Hunter, adding that there were about seven shots in total.

Stephen Kearns told Antonia Boyle BL, for the State, that he saw someone coming into the gym wearing a hi-viz jacket, who he assumed was a man due to their build. He said there could have been writing on the jacket and he thought the person was wearing a bike helmet.

“I can’t be sure, but he was definitely wearing something on his head,” said Mr Kearns. “I heard a noise, I wasn’t sure what it was. I saw everyone going to the floor, so I dropped.”

He said he saw Mr Taylor running towards the gunman. He said he did not think there was any contact between the gunman and Mr Taylor, who fell to the ground as he was running towards the shooter.

Tried to get help

Mr Kearns gave evidence that he ran into the ladies’ toilets to try to open a window to get help, and when he came out he saw Mr Messett lying against a machine.

“He looked dead,” said Mr Kearns.

Defence counsel Hugh Hartnett SC put it to the witness that Mr Kearns had told gardaí the gunman was 5ft 10in, to which Mr Kearns replied that the man could have been taller because of the helmet.

At the opening of the trial, Mr Murray told the jury that a gunman went into Bray Boxing Club at 6.50am and went to the door of a room where Mr Taylor was teaching an exercise class.

“He proceeded to fire a number of shots, nine in all, starting, it would appear, on the right-hand side and going around the room,” Mr Murray said.

“The nearest person to him was Mr Bobby Messett. Mr Messett was shot in the head and died quickly at the scene. One of the other people there was Mr Ian Britton. As the shots continued, he was also shot but survived.

“Mr Taylor himself, who attempted to make a run at the gunman from the left or left-centre of the room, was also shot,” Mr Murray said.

As a participant in Mr Taylor’s exercise class, Mr Messett was “quite simply in the wrong place at the wrong time”, Mr Murray suggested to the jury.

Counsel also told the jury they would hear that fingerprint and DNA evidence taken from a van allegedly used by the gunman link the shootings to Mr Cervi.

The trial continues before Ms Justice Karen O’Connor and the jury of six men and six women.