A man was shot in the leg and a woman in a car narrowly escaped injury in a gun attack outside a Limerick fast-food restaurant at the weekend.
The incident, involving two hooded attackers armed with a handgun and a sawn-off shotgun, occurred at Freda's Takeaway, a Chinese restaurant on the Killeely Road in the north-west of the city, as pubs were emptying in the early hours of Saturday morning.
The injured man was named as Mr Gerard Ryan (18), of Glasgow Park, Southill, Limerick. He was taken to Limerick Regional Hospital and underwent surgery on Saturday night. He remains under Garda protection.
A spokeswoman at the hospital said yesterday that his condition was comfortable.
A Garda spokesman said a car with at least three men in it pulled up outside the restaurant at about 12.15 a.m. Two armed men dressed in boiler suits and wearing balaclavas jumped out and fired at Mr Ryan and a male companion, who were leaving the restaurant.
Several shots were fired from the handgun, but the shotgun was not discharged and appeared to have jammed, according to the spokesman. The attackers returned to the car, which was driven off at high speed.
The spokesman added that one of the bullets passed through the driver's seat of a car parked nearby. It went through the dashboard and ricocheted off the windscreen, narrowly missing the driver, a woman waiting for her daughter, who was inside the restaurant. The woman was later treated for mild shock.
The scene was sealed off for forensic examination. The spokesman added that gardai at Mary Street are appealing for witnesses to come forward.