Gardaí believe that two people may have been involved in the gangland-style shooting of a 24-year-old father of one in the Donaghmede area of Dublin late on Monday evening, it emerged last night.
The victim of the attack, named as Gerard Goulding, from Clarence Street North, in Dublin's city centre, was killed at about 11pm after being lured from his home to a green area near St Donagh's Road. Detectives believe he may have known whoever killed him.
Shortly before he died, he had telephoned his girlfriend to tell her he was going out to meet somebody, and would not be "too long".
Eyewitness reports have now suggested that two men were present at the scene of the attack, when at least one gunman fired two shots from a semi-automatic pistol.
The results of a postmortem report by the State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, last night confirmed he was shot once in the front of the head and once in the chest. He died immediately from the head wound.
However, it remains unclear if Mr Goulding, who was unemployed with a number of previous convictions, was the subject of a planned "gangland hit" or was shot after a row developed with whoever he met at the scene of the shooting.
This may have been due to a drug debt, or as the result of a disagreement over the price of any planned drug deal at the meeting. Mr Goulding was a known drug user.
Gardaí believe he came to the area by taxi between 10pm and 11pm. His body was discovered at about 11pm, after a local resident heard a loud bang and notified gardaí.
Describing the incident as a horrific murder, Supt Noel McLoughlin, of Coolock Garda station, appealed for taxi drivers who had taken fares to the Donaghmede area between 10pm and 11pm on Monday to come forward.
"Taxi drivers were most helpful after the shooting of [murdered mother of one] Donna Cleary, and we are appealing for a similar response," he said yesterday.
Officers are also particularly anxious to talk to a man who was seen walking away from the area at the time of the shooting. He is described as 5ft 11in and of slim build, with a thin, clean-shaven face and a pointed nose.
He was wearing a distinctive brilliant-white tracksuit top with dark bands on the sleeves and around the neck. However, they do not yet have a description of the second person believed to have been involved in the murder.
Detectives added that Mr Goulding's killers may have come to the area by taxi or arrived by Dart.
The scene of the shooting was sealed off yesterday morning as Garda technical experts continued their examination of the area.
One local woman, who did not wish to be named, described the area as usually quiet. She said there had been some problems in the past with petty drug-dealing on the green.
Fine Gael justice spokesman Jim O'Keeffe TD said the killing showed the need for a properly resourced police force, at a time when the gangland threat is so serious that gardaí are diverting resources from regular policing duties.