GARDAÍ INVESTIGATING Sunday’s double gun murder in Dublin believe they have established the identity of the gunman.
The chief suspect lives in Finglas, Dublin, and is a member of the main drugs gang operating in the city. He is suspected of a gangland killing last year.
Gardaí believe the suspect shot both Brendan Molyneux (46) and Paddy Mooney (58) at Mr Mooney’s local authority flat in the Pearse House complex off Pearse Street in Dublin’s south inner city just before 7pm on Sunday.
Detectives are working on the theory that Mr Molyneux was the gunman’s target and that Mr Mooney was shot dead simply because he happened to be in Mr Molyneux’s company when the gunman called.
The gang once led by murdered gangster Martin ‘Marlo’ Hyland are the suspects for the killings. Garda sources said the gang believed Mr Molyneux was about to shoot one of them and murdered him to neutralise the perceived threat he posed.
Garda sources said Mr Molyneux, who lived in a homeless hostel, associated with some gangland criminals but was regarded as a heavy drinker who would not be capable of carrying out a murder.
Gardaí believe his killers knew he would be visiting Mr Mooney on Sunday night and put him under surveillance before calling to the flat and shooting the men in the head and chest.
Mr Molyneux is believed to have sometimes stayed in the flat, which was searched in the past by gardaí investigating his links to organised criminals.
At least two men were involved in the double killing, during which a handgun was used by one of the men to shoot both victims. The killers were captured on CCTV.
Assistant Commissioner Michael Feehan urged people in the local community who had information to contact gardaí.
The suspected killer is currently on bail for a number of offences. He was recently caught in a stolen vehicle close to the home of the gang leader at whose behest he is suspected of carrying out Sunday’s double murder. The leader of the Finglas gang is on bail and is awaiting trial for a serious offence.
The killer is also suspected of involvement in the shooting dead of Michael Murray (41) in Finglas, on March 3rd last. Murray was involved in a feud with the gang the suspected killer is aligned to.
The gang is suspected of killing 13 people over the past three years since it murdered its former leader Hyland (see panel).
Gardaí investigating Sunday’s double murder were last night continuing to question three men and a woman. All four were arrested within two hours of the killing.
A man and woman in their 20s were arrested by a rapid response unit of armed detectives at a house in Finglas. The man’s arrest is being described as “significant”.
The two other men were arrested not far from the murder scene. They are from the area and are closely associated with the man arrested in Finglas.
The four are being questioned under Section 50 of the Offences Against the State Act and can be held for up to a week without charge.
They are being detained at Pearse St, Kevin St, Kilmainham and Harcourt Terrace stations.
As well as the two murders on Sunday, the Finglas gang is also suspected of the murder of JP Joyce, whose frozen body was found dumped in a ditch at the back of Dublin airport on Saturday. He had been shot five times in the head.
Joyce, (30) a father of two, was a member of the Traveller community originally from Coolock. He disappeared last Thursday.