Walkinstown murder may be case of mistaken identity

Gardaí are investigating if a 64-year-old man was shot dead at his home in Walkinstown, Dublin on Sunday night because an associate was involved in the drugs trade.

Efforts are being made to establish if Eddie Nugent was shot in a case of mistaken identity by a killer targeting another man.

Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that the gunman shot indiscriminately at Mr Nugent in an attack designed to frighten someone else.

If Garda suspicions are borne out in the coming days as the investigation progresses, the shooting may be linked to a recent drug seizure. A well known west Dublin drugs gang has apparently blamed Mr Nugent’s associate for drugs and cash being seized in a Garda operation.

Mr Nugent was a married man with adult children.He had been involved in the waste removal business and had also worked as a truck driver. He is not believed to have been working in recent years due to a number of healthproblems.

He was shot when he went to answer the door at his home on Harty Avenue, Walkinstown just before 9.30pm on Sunday.

Gardaí believe the shooter was on the doorstep and opened fire through the frosted glass panels on the hall door when he saw Mr Nugent approaching to open it. One theory is that the gunman may have fired without waiting to identify his victim and may not have known who he was shooting.

Bullet holes were clearly visible on the outside of the property on Monday.

Mr Nugent was wounded in the chest and the killer ran to a waiting car which drove off at speed.

Members of Mr Nugent’s family, who were at home at the time, called the emergency services. He was treated by paramedics at the scene and was then taken by ambulance to St James’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

A car found burnt out late on Sunday night on JohnMcCormack Avenue close the murder scene is believed to have been the getaway vehicle.

Mr Nugent’s murder was the first gun killing of 2015 in the State. The incidence of gun crime has been falling sharply since it peaked in the 2007-2008 period. In some parts of the country, including west Dublin, the number of shooting incidents has halved since then.

Gardaí are unaware of any threat having been made to Mr Nugent’s life and say they do not know of any recent disagreements or incidents which might have been connected to the shooting.

The Nugent family home was sealed off immediately after the killing when gardaí arrived on the scene. It was preserved as a crime scene overnight.

Members of the Garda Technical Bureau carried out an examination of the property yesterday.Gardaí also conducted house to house inquiries in an effort to establish if any local people witnessed the attack or may have seenthe killers in the area before or after the murder.

Gardaí have appealed for anyone who was in the Walkinstown or Crumlin areas between 9pm and 10pm on Sunday who may be able to help the inquiry to contact them in confidence.

The murder investigation is being run from Crumlin Garda station.