A man in his 30s is expected to be charged in connection with the killing of Sgt Andrew Callanan at Tallaght garda station yesterday. The charges will be laid after the man has received hospital treatment for burns.
According to Garda sources, the man may have borne a grudge against gardai. He had been apprehended previously for breaching a court barring order preventing him from approaching his former wife's house in Tallaght. The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, yesterday indicated there would be a review of security for gardai in 24-hour stations in Dublin, but insisted the "community policing" initiative of making Garda stations more open to the public would continue.
Sgt Callanan, who was 37, was married. He and his wife Yvonne had three children: a five-year-old son, Stephen, and two-year-old twins, Jennifer and Sarah.
A native of Thurles, Co Tipperary, Sgt Callanan had served at Tallaght for most of his 17 years in the Garda Siochana.
According to gardai, the suspect walked into the station at 4.45 a.m. yesterday carrying what was described as a large can or drum of petrol and a long knife. He pierced the tin a number of times and then may have thrown or dropped it in the middle of the reception area.
Sgt Callanan came out from his office with a fire extinguisher and was attempting to douse the flames when it appears the vaporised petrol exploded in the room, engulfing him. The man who started the fire had moved towards the door and escaped serious injury. Another officer on duty with Sgt Callanan in the public office escaped injury.
According to gardai, the man had been drinking heavily since the previous day. He is known to have been angry about the barring order. The suspect had been living recently in the Crumlin area at his parents' home. He served in the Army from 1980 to May 1982 but was discharged as unsuitable. He received only minor burns to his back and buttocks and is believed to have made his way to the house in Crumlin, where he was staying.
According to gardai, the man made at least one telephone call from the house in the next few hours to ask about the condition of the injured garda. He was arrested shortly before 8 a.m. and taken to Crumlin garda station. When it was discovered he was suffering from burns, he was taken to St James's Hospital.