Gardaí hope victim can shed light on Greystones shooting

Gardaí are trying to establish a motive for a gun attack in Greystones, Co Wicklow that has left a man seriously ill in hospital.

Detectives investigating last night’s shooting say the injured man was not known to them and there was no information that suggested his life was at risk.

They have not ruled out the possibility that he was targeted in a case of mistaken identity.

Gardaí are also trying to determine if there were any disputes in the man’s personal life that may have resulted in him being shot at his home.

The attack has some similarities to the fatal shooting of Dubliner Eddie Nugent at his home in Walkinstown, west Dublin, on Sunday night.

In this case the 64-year-old was fatally wounded when he went to answer his front door.

Like last night’s victim, Mr Nugent had not involvement in organised crime.

Gardaí believe he may have been shot by a gunman targeting an associate.

In the latest incident, the man shot in Greystones was at home with his wife at Redford Park when two men came to the front door just after 9.30pm.

When the 58-year-old victim answered the door he was confronted by one of the men who shot him in the stomach.

The attackers then drove off in a waiting car while the injured man was taken by ambulance to St Vincent’s hospital.

He has undergone surgery and while he is seriously ill he is expected to survive.

The semi-detached bungalow where the shooting occurred was sealed off overnight.

The scene was examined on Tuesday by members of the Garda Technical Bureau.

Bullet casings from a handgun were visible outside the property, the front window of which was also smashed.

Gardaí are hopeful the injured man may be well enough to be interviewed about the attack.

A number of residents in the leafy, private estate expressed surprise at the attack, which took place in a quiet cul de sac area of Redford Park.

The housing development was built about 30 years ago and is a settled, residential area with green spaces, hedges and maturing trees.