Three men held after Dublin shooting

THREE MEN were being questioned in Dublin last night in connection with a shooting in the North Circular Road area at about 2am yesterday.

A shot was fired at two men who were standing in a doorway shortly before 2am.

One of the men suffered a shotgun wound to his upper body and the other men sustained a head injury, although this is not thought to have been caused by gun shot.

Neither of the injuries is said to be life-threatening.

Gardaí say there were three people involved in the incident, and when a detective patrol car from the Fitzgibbon Street station arrived on the scene members of the patrol gave chase on foot.

This resulted in the arrest of two men in the Simmons Place area.

The Garda air-support unit gave assistance in locating a third individual who was arrested by gardaí from Mountjoy station.

The three men, one of who is said to be aged 18 and the others 20 years of age, are being held at Store Street and Mountjoy Garda stations under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act, according to which they can be held for 72 hours.

Senator Paschal Donohoe of Fine Gael – a former Dáil candidate in the area – said the incident showed guns were too easily available.

He said the Minister for Justice, Dermot Ahern, spoke “tough” on gun crime but was not doing enough to address it.

“The Government focuses almost exclusively on legislation to deal with the crime problem and it is obviously not working.

“If gun crime is to be tackled we need to match legislation with resources, and the Government doesn’t appear to be prioritising that balance.

“Tough laws are just the beginning. If they are to have impact criminals need to be taken on in the streets and in the courts, and not just in the statute books,” said Senator Donohoe