A man who caused a tense stand-off in a south Dublin Garda station on Saturday was being treated yesterday at the St John of God's psychiatric hospital in Stillorgan, Co Dublin.
He had gone missing from the hospital overnight, having been brought there by gardaí on Saturday evening, but he returned voluntarily yesterday morning.
The incident at Shankill began shortly before 2 p.m. on Saturday when the man entered the station carrying a weapon that later proved to be a pellet gun.
Gardaí said no members of the force were held hostage at any stage, but armed detectives and a Garda helicopter were called to the scene before the problem was resolved.
The road outside the station was closed to traffic and neighbours were advised to stay indoors during the incident, which ended when the man handed over the weapon.
He was held in custody at Shankill before being taken to St John of God's. No charges were made against him and gardaí refused to comment on whether charges might be brought at a future date.
They also declined to say whether the man had been a patient in St John of God's before the incident. The hospital with-held any comment on the case.
A local resident, Kevin Lambe (16), who lives opposite the station, said he first heard of the incident when a friend rang him to say that "somebody has been taken hostage in the Garda station".
As the incident developed, "the whole road was barricaded, there were loads of gardaí everywhere, two plain-clothes detectives with revolvers over there, and a helicopter hovering overhead."
His next-door neighbour said the situation was like "L.A.P.D. in Shankill". She had been mowing the lawn when the stand-off began but as the station was cordoned off, neighbours were told by gardaí to stay indoors. "We watched it from the window, but we were trying to watch the Dublin/Kerry match as well," she added.
Gardaí said there would be a full investigation into the incident.
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