Mr John Carthy had become an "immediate threat" to lives when he was shot by gardai at the end of the Abbeylara siege in April, the Garda officer who was in command at the scene told the inquest into Mr Carthy's death yesterday.
Supt Joe Shelley, of Mullingar Garda station, told the inquest in Longford that Mr Carthy was walking towards a group of unarmed gardai when he was shot by two members of the Garda Emergency Response Unit positioned behind him.
Mr Carthy was shot dead on the evening of Thursday, April 20th, shortly after he emerged from his house at the end of the siege. The standoff began the previous evening when gardai were called to the house after Mr Carthy (27), who was armed with a shotgun, ordered his mother from the house on Wednesday, April 19th. Gardai surrounded the house, trying to persuade Mr Carthy to come out.
Supt Shelley said Mr Carthy discharged a shot on the roadway after emerging from the house, and continued walking towards the group of unarmed gardai, which included himself and Chief Supt Padraic Tansey.
"They showed great tolerance and great patience. They allowed him to go a considerable distance," he said of the ERU's response.
Supt Shelley said gardai shouted "Armed gardai, put the gun down, John" before shots brought Mr Carthy to the ground and an ERU member kicked his shotgun away. He said two members of the six-man unit, Det Sgt Jackson and Det Sgt McCabe, had fired the two rounds which killed Mr Carthy.
Mr Patrick Gageby SC, for the Carthy family, asked Supt Shelley why more resources had not been used to locate Mr Carthy's solicitor, Mr Michael Finucane.
Supt Shelley said gardai were first given the name of Mr Finucane just three hours before Mr Carthy was shot. Mr Carthy had refused to identify his solicitor when gardai asked him.
Mr Gageby said a local solicitor should have been brought to the scene, someone whom Mr Carthy would have viewed as independent of gardai, as he mistrusted gardai because of a previous incident in Granard, Co Longford.
Supt Shelley said everything had been done to try to locate his solicitor.
He said he was initially notified of the incident at 6.25 p.m. on Wednesday, April 19th, and he requested that armed gardai from Longford attend the "dangerous and volatile" scene. By the time he arrived, Mr Carthy had already discharged eight to 10 shots.
He said that on his arrival he tried to talk to Mr Carthy "on first-name terms", saying they were gardai and were there to help. There was no response but two shots were fired from a window.
Supt Shelley estimated that a further six shots were fired between 7 p.m. and 9.50 p.m. before the Emergency Response Unit, under Det Sgt Russell, arrived. He said he was in constant radio contact with Det Sgt Russell, who took control of an inner cordon around the house.
He said the aim of the operation was to contain Mr Carthy and negotiate with him. If Mr Carthy's exit from the house was uncontrolled, he aimed to confront, disarm and arrest him.
He said an inner cordon was placed around the house before the ERU arrived at 9.50 p.m. and an outer cordon was to keep people from the scene. "I was satisfied that when both cordons were in place that negotiations could be conducted in a safe manner."
He said lights were set up around the house before Supt Michael Byrne, of Granard Garda station, took over night command so Mr Carthy could not leave the house during darkness. Three shots were fired at gardai during the night.
He said numerous shots were fired from the house during the following day, one of them damaging the megaphone being used by negotiators.
Supt Shelley said he would not let Ms Marie Carthy, his sister, see her brother because he was concerned for her safety.
The inquest continues today.