A man was shot dead yesterday evening outside a public house in the Ballybough area of north Dublin. He was Mr Thomas Byrne from Sheriff Street in the city.
A companion was also shot, although gardai believe this was from a ricochet and that he was not being targeted.
Gardai last night could offer no motive for the attack on Mr Byrne. They would not say if the killing might be drugs-linked. "We just don't know at the moment," a spokesman said. "The motive might become clearer later."
The dead man's companion was last night being treated in the Mater Hospital. The bullet went through his arm but his injuries were not life-threatening, gardai said.
The two men were drinking outside O'Neill's public house in Ballybough when two men drove up in a green Nissan Micra. One of them shot Mr Byrne in the side of the head. He died instantly. Gardai believe the bullet which hit Mr Byrne exited and hit his companion in the arm.
Gardai said the two men got away in the Micra. Later, a Micra was found burnt out near O'Neill's pub. A Garda spokesman said last night the signs were that the car was a Micra as identified by a witness at the shooting.
The incident in Ballybough was the second murder in Dublin in 48 hours. Mr Patrick Neville (31) was shot in the head as he left his home in St Michael's Estate in Inchicore on Saturday morning.
Gardai were still at the scene of the Ballybough crime late last night. Det Insp Hubert Collins of Fitzgibbon Street Garda station, where the inquiry is being conducted, could not be reached for comment.