Gardaí have begun an investigation after an armed man who had barricaded himself in his house in Gort, Co Galway for 21 hours was shot and wounded by a Garda officer as he came out of the house last night. Lorna Siggins reports from Gort, Co Galway
The man, who has been named locally as 39-year old Anthony Burke of Gort, was described as being in a critical condition in University College Hospital Galway last night. Gardaí described his condition as "stable".
Garda press spokesman Supt Kevin Donohoe described the outcome as "unfortunate" but "proportionate".
Mr Burke barricaded himself in the house late on Sunday night, and fired a number of shots in the early hours of yesterday.
Supt Donohoe said that there was silence from him throughout yesterday until negotiations began with him shortly before 6pm last night. It is understood that at this time Mr Burke answered the phone at his home in Crowe Street where he had remained with two shotguns throughout the day.
At about 6.10pm negotiations continued and were going so well according to Supt Donohoe that the man voluntarily gave up one of his firearms at 7.30pm but remained in the house.
At about 8.15pm the man emerged without warning and discharged several shots.
Supt Donohoe said that gardaí responded by challenging the man but he continued to act in a very threatening manner.
He said that a "less non-lethal option, known as a beanbag round" which is available to the Garda emergency response unit, was then used. The man was hit a number of times.
But, according to Supt Donohoe, the man continued to behave threateningly. An officer then discharged a live round from a .308 rifle and the man was injured in the chest-shoulder area. He was taken immediately to University College Hospital Galway by ambulance.
Responding to questions Supt Donohoe said that gardaí had endeavoured throughout the day to negotiate with the man as one of four levels of response to such a situation. Public safety was the priority at all times he added and he praised the immediate neighbours in Gort, who had been evacuated from their houses, for their co-operation.
He said that the immediate area would remain sealed off as part of an investigation, and a Garda Chief Supt from the Dublin Metropolitan region had been appointed to conduct his own investigation, as was standard in such situations.
Nobody else was injured in the course of developments, he confirmed.
The sequence of events began sometime between 11pm and 11.30pm on Sunday night when Mr Burke's partner, named locally as Mag Corless, sought refuge in a neighbour's house in Crowe Street, not far from Gort town centre. Ms Corless has three children, the youngest of whom is a five-month-old baby, and Mr Burke owns the family home which was purchased from the local authority.
Shots were fired, gardaí were called to the scene, and Mr Burke's brother tried to intervene without success. Early yesterday the cul-de-sac was cordoned off. Between 6am and 7.30am, neighbours in some 30 houses were evacuated. Later yesterday, another 20 houses were evacuated.
