GARDAI are questioning three men and a woman about the attempted raid on a north Co Dublin business family in which a raider was shot and wounded by a garda.
Garda technical experts were also examining a sawn off pump action shotgun recovered after gardai confronted raiders and shot an armed intruder at the house in Lispopple Road, Swords, just after midnight on Thursday.
It is understood that the weapon recovered is similar to the gun used to kill the Co Wicklow publican Mr Tom Nevin, during a late night raid at Brittas Bay last Tuesday morning.
Criminal gangs in Dublin are known to hire specialist weapons such as the sawn off pump action shotgun from illegal arms dealers, and gardai believe the weapon recovered yesterday could have been used in other robberies.
Garda sources rejected reports that the killing of Mr Nevin was an assassination linked with a grudge. Mr Nevin was forced to open a floor safe and the raiders escaped with a large amount of cash.
The man who was shot by gardai at Swords yesterday morning is 26 and from Ballyfermot, Dublin. He is recovering in Beaumont Hospital.
According to Garda sources, the gang which carried out the raid on the home of Mr James Fitzpatrick in Swords is based in Ballyfermot, and has specialised in "tie up robberies on the homes of business people in the Dublin area.
Yesterday afternoon, gardai were questioning the three men and the woman about the attempted robbery of Mr Fitzpatrick, who has a vending machine business. The four were being held at Coolock, Swords and Malahide Garda stations. They were arrested under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act, which allows gardai to detain them without charge for 48 hours.
It is understood gardaf were protecting the Fitzpatrick home and may have had information that the home of a vending machine operator was about to be raided, although there may not have been specific information about the target.
There are several vending machine businessmen living in Co Dublin. They are known to handle large amounts of cash and have been targeted repeatedly by Dublin criminals.
At around 12.20 a.m. yesterday a man burst into the Fitzpatrick home and ordered the family to lie on the floor. The man was confronted by an armed garda. The garda opened fire with a revolver, hitting the armed raider in the chest.
The other members of the gang were outside and escaped in a stolen car.