THE DUBLIN city coroner yesterday issued an appeal for public assistance in relation to the death of a father of six who was shot three times by a lone gunman after he returned home having dropped his children to school.
Patrick Harte (42), Edenmore Avenue, Coolock, Dublin, arrived home at 9am on May 29th, 2006, when he was shot three times in the head as he sat in his car, an inquest heard yesterday.
The gunman then fled the scene on the back of a motorbike, Dublin City Coroner's Court heard.
Mr Harte was dead when emergency services arrived.
The killer and his accomplice have not been identified and neither the motorcycle nor the revolver used in the incident have been found, Det Insp Walter O'Sullivan of the District Detective Unit, Coolock, told the inquest.
"Patrick Harte was surveyed and targeted and his death was prepared for and planned. The accomplice parked up the road and the perpetrator then walked down and shot him," Det Insp O'Sullivan said.
Coroner Dr Brian Farrell issued an appeal for information from the public to come forward and assist gardaí in their investigation. "This was a cruel shooting outside his home, having brought the children to school," he said.
A jury of four men and two women returned a verdict of unlawful killing under the direction of the coroner.