Man is in Garda custody after fatal shooting in suburban Dublin home

A man was in Garda custody in Dublin last night after another man was shot dead. The shooting took place shortly before 10 a

A man was in Garda custody in Dublin last night after another man was shot dead. The shooting took place shortly before 10 a.m. at a house in Vernon Avenue, Clontarf. Gardai were not naming the victim last night but he was named locally as Mr Fergus O'Brien (28), a barman who worked in a public house in Howth.

Gardai said they were alerted to the shooting when a man rang the local station. Shortly afterwards they went to the house and a 57year-old man was taken into custody.

The victim died from a single shotgun blast, and detectives were trying to establish yesterday whether the gun was a legally held firearm.

The man detained was held under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act which allows detention without charge for 48 hours. The Garda said that initial investigations suggested the fatal shooting was the result of a "domestic incident".

Residents of the street were reluctant to talk about what had happened.

One man out walking yesterday afternoon said it was "the last place you would expect something like this to happen". "This is a very respectable area," he added, before walking briskly on.

The shooting took place in a large, well-kept two-storey house with black and white gates and a red-tiled roof.

One man, who came out of a house two doors down, said he was completely shocked. "I can't take it in. I'm stunned," he said. He added that a "respectable" family of a mother, father and two sons lived there.

Another neighbour was visibly shaken. "I'm not up to talking about it," he said.

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