Gardaí were last night continuing to question two men after a car chase in which a shot was fired at detectives.
The incident happened when two detectives in an unmarked patrol car noticed a car in suspicious circumstances in the Moyglass area of south Tipperary at around 3am yesterday.
When the two gardaí went to approach the two occupants of the car, they took off at high speed in the direction of Fethard, and the gardaí gave chase.
During a four-mile pursuit a shot was fired at gardaí, but no one was injured.
The fleeing car crashed at Killbragh, Fethard, and the two gardaí - who were armed - arrested two men in their early 20s from the south Tipperary area.
Gardaí also recovered a sawn-off shotgun and a knife from the car, which was later taken to Clonmel Garda station for a technical examination.
According to a Garda spokesman, the two men were arrested under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act and taken to Clonmel Garda station for questioning.
The shotgun will be sent to Dublin for examination by Garda ballistics experts, and officers are hoping this will enable them to trace the origin of the weapon.
Gardaí were last night refusing to say where the men were heading when they were apprehended, but officers are satisfied the incident is not linked to any paramilitary activity.