New York detectives are hunting for the man they believe shot and killed an Irish immigrant in a Queens bar on Saturday morning. The victim, Mr Francis O'Loughlin (32), from Kilkenny, died on Monday of the wounds he sustained after being shot once in the back of the head in the Mad Ass Tavern, allegedly by a porter who worked in the bar, police said.
Investigators believe the two men had been involved in a dispute over the last few weeks, possibly over a woman friend, who worked in the bar. They had argued last Wednesday and again on Saturday just before the shooting, according to a police statement.
Initially it was reported that Mr O'Loughlin had also worked at the bar, but it appears he lived nearby and was a regular customer.
His friends said he had been waiting for his girlfriend to finish work when he was shot. At about 2.30 a.m. on Saturday, when Mr O'Loughlin went into the toilet, the porter allegedly followed him inside and shot him once in the head.
Father Colm Campbell, director of the Irish Apostolate in Queens, said Mr O'Loughlin's mother and sister had flown in from Ireland during the weekend after receiving the news.
After several brain scans, it was decided to switch off the life support machine on Monday, Father Campbell said.
"It's shocking. You never expect to experience handgun violence," said Mr Gary Liddell, a Scot who had been Mr O'Loughlin's room-mate for three months.
"Walking around New York, I always thought it was safer than Glasgow," he said.
Friends said Mr O'Loughlin had been in the United States for several years, and had worked as a sub-contracting carpenter with his brother. He had recently been talking to his mother about returning home to set up business in Ireland.
"He was just talking to her last week, saying that he would speak to her this weekend," Father Campbell said.