Gardaí have launched a murder investigation tonight after a gang went on a violent spree in Co Louth last night that left one man dead and another seriously injured in hospital.
The spate of car-jackings and attacks started at 11pm last night when a man challenged car thieves outside his home in Dundalk. The gang then hijacked a car being driven by a woman through the town.
They later attacked two men, aged 37 and 41, who were sitting in a car at Upper Faughart, Dromad, some eight kilometres north of Dundalk.
A Garda spokesman said the gang rammed the men's car and an altercation broke out during which one man was killed and the other man was hurt.
The gardaí arrived at the scene to find a 37-year-old, who was a passenger in the parked car, lying under the vehicle. He was treated in Louth County Hospital but was pronounced dead at 4.00am.
The injured man, who was the driver of the car, is being treated for a non-life threatening head injury at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, it has been confirmed.
Gardaí have sealed off the scene for forensic examination.
Tonight gardaí confirmed that the PSNI located in Newry the Grey Mitsubishi registration number 00-LH-895 which was used in the Dundalk hi-jacked.
Gardaí also located the white Ford Escort van, registration number MAZ - 2406, south of the border shortly after 5pm this evening.
The crime spree began at 11pm last night when a group of men, one with a machete, tried to steal a white Mazda from outside a house in Dundalk. The owner of the car went outside to intervene and stop them driving away and was struck with the machete.
He received a serious wound to his right arm and was taken to hospital, where he received 45 stitches before being discharged.
In the meantime, the white Mazda was driven down Mary Road, where it collided with a parked car.
It was joined by a dark grey BMW. The cars travelled together to Mary Road North where a woman pulled in to let the Mazda pass - but a member of the gang jumped out of the BMW and hijacked her car.
Gardai said the Mazda later collided with another car and was abandoned. "This is not a murder investigation at this stage," said Superintendent Jim Sheridan at Dundalk Garda Station.
"We are investigating the circumstances surrounding this incident. I don't think this was pre-planned, I think it happened purely by accident. The occupants in the red Astra just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Supt Sheridan said it did not appear that wounds on the victims had been inflicted from a machete, but stressed he was unable to confirm what exactly had happened until a post mortem has been completed.
"At this stage we don't have any motives," he said.
"We are working on a number of lines of enquiries and are working with the Police Service of Northern Ireland. There are a number of vehicles we are still anxious to locate."
The four men sought by police are believed to be in their 20s. One is understood to have a Dublin accent.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the gardaí in Dundalk on 042 938 8400.
Additional reporting: PA