Three escape injury in latest Dublin shooting

Three men escaped injury when the car they were sitting in was sprayed with bullets last night in the latest of a series of shootings in Dublin.

The three men, all in their 20s, were attacked as they sat in a parked car at Belcamp Crescent in Darndale at around 8pm yesterday.

At least two gunmen approached the car and fired three shots. A fourth shot was fired at the men as they made their escape on foot. None of the intended targets were injured.

The gunmen fled the scene in a silver Saab, escaping toward Dublin airport.

The car, which had been stolen two weeks ago in Co Kildare, was found burned out near the Cloghran Stud at the rear of the Coachman's Inn.

Gardaí do not believe the shooting was related to the deaths of three men in the ongoing feud between south Dublin drugs gangs.

A man being questioned about the fatal shooting of drug dealer Noel Roche in Clontarf last week was freed by gardaí last night. The man (32) was the driver of the car in which Roche died when they were attacked by gunmen last Tuesday night. He escaped the assailants by running to a nearby house and then disappeared before gardaí arrived.

He had earlier contacted gardaí through his solicitor with a pre-prepared statement that indicated he had not seen anything during the attack. He was then arrested on Friday.

It is understood he refused to co-operate with gardai, who were forced to release him last night.

Garda technical experts are continuing to examine a handgun and other items found in a beige Peugeot 307 car found abandoned in the Furry Park area of Killester.

Roche's murder was believed to be a revenge attack following the fatal shootings of Darren Geoghegan and Gavin Byrne in Firhouse last weekend.

So far, seven people, including Noel Roche's brother, have been killed in a four-year territorial feud between two drugs gangs on the southside of the city. The feud is understood to have arisen following a tip-off to gardaí that resulted in drugs worth €1 million being seized in a Dublin hotel.

Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy last week announced he is to allocate an extra 50 officers to a new unit specifically charged with tackling gangland crime in the Dublin Metropolitan Region.

The unit will work with personnel employed on Operation Anvil, which was set up last May.