Man injured in third Limerick shooting

Gardaí in Limerick are on alert following a third serious shooting in the city in less than a week.

Gardaí in Limerick are on alert following a third serious shooting in the city in less than a week.

The latest gun attack happened on Thursday night when a man in his late 20s was shot in the back in the St Mary's Park area shortly before midnight.

The victim suffered minor wounds from shotgun pellets. He was treated by ambulance personnel at Henry Street Garda station after refusing to go to hospital.

The man, who is from the St Mary's Park area, told gardaí that he had hidden for an hour in a bush after being shot before raising the alarm.

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Gardaí say this latest attack is not linked to any other shooting which took place in the same area earlier this week or to any gangland feuds.

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, also in St Mary's Park, Mr David Heighton (26), was injured in the face and chest after being blasted with a shotgun.

Earlier that night, shortly before 6 p.m., a number of shots were fired into a house in St Mary's Park, shattering windows, but no one was injured.

Gardaí are still investigating if there is a link between these two incidents.

Last Sunday morning Mr Aaron O'Brien (22), from Delmege Park in Moyross, was shot in the stomach just yards from his home by a gunman armed with a rifle.

Mr O'Brien underwent life-saving surgery at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital on Sunday in Limerick but is now in a stable condition.

A man was arrested on Thursday in connection with the incident and a file is being prepared for the DPP.

The latest shootings come just days after Chief Supt Gerry Kelly admitted to Limerick City Council that one in every three shootings in Ireland happens in Limerick.