A man is recovering in hospital after he was kneecapped in a punishment-style attack in the early hours of yesterday morning. The shooting occurred in west Dublin and gardaí believe it is linked to the activities of the Real IRA in the city.
The injured man sustained a gunshot wound to his right knee at Le Fanu Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin, at about 12.10am. Gardaí believe he was attacked by a number of men and that he may have been shot in a vehicle that then left the area.
He was taken by ambulance to St James’s Hospital, where his injuries are said not to be life-threatening. The man is in his 30s and is from Dublin city centre.
Gardaí have spoken to him about the shooting but he has thus far been unable to identify his attackers.
The victim is known to gardaí and is a suspected member of the Real IRA. In recent years he was one of a number of men questioned about the shooting of a drug dealer in north Dublin, but was released without charge.
The kneecapping victim, who is currently facing criminal charges and is on bail, is close to members of the Real IRA based around the northern suburbs of Dublin.
He was well known to key Real IRA member Alan Ryan, who was shot dead in north Dublin in September.
Gardaí are now trying to establish if the man shot yesterday was targeted by Real IRA members known to him, or criminal elements the Real IRA has been feuding with. However, the attack has all the hallmarks of an attack carried out by republican groups.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated incident, gardaí are investigating a shooting that occurred in Coolock, north Dublin, on Friday night. Nobody was injured in the incident.
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