Shooting of woman in Finglas may have been accidental, say gardaí

Gardaí suspect that a mother of five was accidentally shot when a gun that was brought into her family home in Finglas, Dublin was discharged.

The investigation into the fatal shooting of Sandra Boyd (36) on Saturday night is focused on establishing who brought the gun into the Boyd house on Collins Place off Ballygall Road West and how it was fired.

A gun was recovered after Ms Boyd was shot and gardaí believe interviews with people who were in the house at the time will be crucial to establishing exactly what happened.

Detectives do not believe Ms Boyd’s shooting was in any way pre-planned, intentional or that she was targeted in any way. Gardaí have ruled out the possibility an attack was carried out on the Boyd family home and believe the handgun the fatal shot was fired from was already in the house.

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Ms Boyd had four sons and a daughter, who was her youngest child and was about 18 months old. Friends and family of the deceased on Sunday posted tributes on social media which described her as “a diamond” and “a beautiful young girl” who was “one of a kind”.

Shock

People living in the area spoke to The Irish Times of their shock at the fatal shooting. A number of residents said a house close to the Boyd family home had been shot at last Tuesday.

The alarm was raised at about 8.40pm on Saturday when gardaí and paramedics rushed to the house. Ms Boyd, who was wounded in the chest, was treated at the scene before being taken by ambulance to the Mater Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.

Garda sources said criminal charges would arise relating to the possession and discharge of the firearm. No arrests had been made as of Sunday night and detectives were trying to track down everyone who was in the house at the time. One man they were keen to speak with was still being sought late on Sunday.

The scene remained sealed off throughout the day as members of the Garda Technical Bureau examined the property. Ms Boyd's remains were removed to the City Mortuary on Griffith Avenue where a postmortem was to be carried out.