Gardaí continue to question three men over fatal shooting

Gardaí in west Dublin were continuing to question three men on Sunday night over a fatal shooting they believe was a case of mistaken identity.

Keith Walker, who was in his 30s, was shot in the yard of a pigeon club on Shelerin Road, Clonsilla on Friday evening as he was delivering pigeons.

Gardaí believe he was not the killer’s target but was fatally wounded in a case of mistaken identity. He was shot in the head.

Reports at the weekend said Mr Walker, the father of two children, had been due to get married later this year.

A second man suffered gunshot wounds to the arm during the attack. He was brought to Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown.

Locals at the scene suggested the gunman was dressed in women’s clothing when he approached the men and opened fire using an automatic weapon.

Gardaí said two men, aged 36 and 38, were arrested in Dublin on Saturday evening. They are being held at Finglas and Blanchardstown Garda stations under the provisions of section 50 of the Offences Against the State Act 1939.

A number of homes were also searched.

A 32-year-old man who was arrested in Co Meath on Saturday morning remains in custody at Blanchardstown Garda station.

Gardaí are working on the theory that a man in his 30s from the west Dublin area was the intended target. It is believed, however, that the intended target was not present when the shooting took place. It is understood he has spent time abroad lately and that he is not in Ireland.

The intended target was one of a number of men questioned about the murder in May 2013 of a Lithuanian man.

Gintaras Zelvys had been heavily involved in organised crime in his home country before coming to Ireland and establishing himself as a businessman who ran second-hand clothes collection runs from homes throughout Dublin and surrounding counties.

The clothing was collected ostensibly for charity but was exported for sale in the poorer nations.

He was gunned down on May 1st, 2013, as he and his wife opened their business outlet on the Greenogue industrial estate, Rathcoole, Co Dublin.

The intended target of Friday night’s attack had also been subjected to a punishment beating by the Real IRA in north Dublin before its leader Alan Ryan(32) was shot dead in Clongriffin, north Dublin, in September 2012.