GARDAI have recovered the stolen BMW which was fired on by armed plainclothes officers after one of the occupants opened fire on a garda in Co Kildare, reports Jim Cusack, Security Correspondent. Gardai fired six shots at the car during the confrontation at around 2.30 a.m. yesterday at Young's Cross, near Celbridge.
Garda sources said the car, had been involved in an incident earlier when its occupants were disturbed while trying to steal a van from a house in Leixlip. The car was stopped a short time later by three gardai at a checkpoint at Young's Cross. As one of the officers approached the car a shotgun was pointed at him and a shot fired. Other officers returned fire and the car drove away at high speed. It was recovered yesterday in Neilstown in west Dublin.
The car, stolen from the K Club, at Straffan, on Thursday, is believed to have been taken by members of a group of young criminals known as the M50 gang who specialise in stealing high powered cars and raiding business premises in rural areas outside Dublin.
It is not known if any of the gang was injured. There were no reports from any hospitals of anyone seeking treatment for gunshot injuries by yesterday evening.