GARDAI have drawn up a shortlist of five Dublin criminals who may have had reason to murder Ms Veronica Guerin, the investigative journalist.
Hired gunmen used a highpowered revolver, possibly a .357 Magnum, to kill Ms Guerin at traffic lights on the dual carriageway. She was hit twice in the face at close range and died instantly.
It emerged last night that Ms Guerin had opted to dispensed with Garda protection earlier this year. She had been accompanied.by two armed detectives after a criminal based in west Dublin had said that he would kill her. But she subsequently concluded that the threat against her had diminished.
The criminal involved is one of the main suspects in the Garda inquiry into her murder. He is the subject of charges and is known to have had reason to want to intimidate or kill Ms Guerin. But the movements of at least four other major Dublin criminals with grievances against Ms Guerin are being examined by gardai.
It is believed that, following an earlier gun attack on Ms Guerin, in which she was shot in the leg at her Co Dublin home in January, 1995, she considered carrying a gun for her protection. A Dublin gun dealer was approached on her behalf, but she subsequently decided against carrying a weapon.
According to Garda sources, three well known members of an Inner city criminal gang, one of whom is on the Garda short list of suspects, made a point of being seen in the city centre at about the time of the fatal shooting yesterday.
The criminals at the centre of the inquiry include one man who is based in north inner Dublin, a major drug dealer from the south inner city and another gang leader who has recently moved to Amsterdam.
None is believed to have been directly involved in the murder, which gardai suspect was contracted out to one of the city's hired professional gunmen. These assassins have carried out a dozen killings in the city in recent years, but until yesterday the victims had all been criminals killed as a result of inter gang rivalry.
One of the largest murder investigations in Dublin for many years has been launched to track down Ms Guerin's killers.
The Government will assess the implications of the murder in the coming days, according to senior sources, although there were no indications last night that new proposals to deal with the criminal and drugs underworld were imminent.
The Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, said that Ms Guerin's work in recent times had established her as a particularly gifted and professional investigative journalist. He described the murder of a journalist as sinister in the extreme".
The gunmen, travelling by motor cycle, struck when Ms Guerin was stopped at traffic lights on her way back to Dublin after she had appeared on a speeding charge at Naas District Court. They drew up alongside her red Opel Calibra car on the Naas dual carriageway. The pillion passenger fired five or six shots through the driver's side window. It is thought that the first two shots struck Ms Guerin, killing her instantly.
The white coloured motorcycle, described by gardai as powerful, bore what are believed to be false registration numbers. These were either 89 D 4823 or 89 D 4923. Both men wore white crash helmets which did not totally cover their faces.
The murder was witnessed by at least three people in nearby vehicles - two women drivers were also stopped at the traffic lights and a truck driver pulled up alongside Ms Guerin's car. One of the women was treated in hospital for shock. Gardai were alerted by a motorist using a car phone.
The man who opened fire on Ms Guerin was described as "tubby". He is believed to be about 30 years old, with blue eyes, a fair complexion and a moustache. He wore a black leather jacket. His accomplice was shorter in stature and also wore a black leather jacket. The men sped off in the direction of the Belgard Road in Tallaght.