Saturday 19 July 2008

Two murders in 12 hours

Irish Herald


Saturday July 19 2008
TWO separate murder investigations are under way today after the shooting dead of two men less than 12 hours apart.
A 33-year-old man, named locally as Trevor Walsh, became the capital’s latest gun victim in the early hours of this morning after he was shot in the head while passing a house in the Kippure Park Estate in Finglas.
The innocent occupants of the house are not in any way connected to the incident.
His murder came less than 12 hours after the gunning down of Anthony Foster (34) in Coolock as he left his home to collect his children from a nearby creche.
Foster was hit by a shotgun blast as he walked down the stairs from his third-floor flat at around 1.45pm and was dead when gardai arrived on the scene.
Walsh, who had some 50 previous convictions, mostly related to his drug and alcohol addiction, was gunned down as he walked in Finglas at 20 minutes after midnight.
SHOTGUN
A lone gunman blasted him with a shotgun from close range after following him for a distance. He was rushed to the James Connolly Memorial Hospital but was pronounced dead upon his arrival. A post mortem was conducted today. He had only recently been released from jail and was well known to gardai in Finglas.
Gardai have sealed off the area for technical examination, a tent has since been erected, and they are now appealing for witnesses.
The tent was positioned at a point where it covered the pavement outside one house as well as the entrance to the driveway. It is believed the victim was passing by the house when the fatal attack occurred.
Kippure Park is made up of a network of roads that form many cul de sacs adjacent to the Tolka Valley Road.
One woman leaving the estate this morning was shocked at the sight of the cordoned-off scene.
“I didn’t know anything about it until I left the house. I remember being half awoken by three bangs, but I thought it my be a car or kids messing,” she said.
Other neighbours said they weren’t in at the time of the shooting and it was only when they were coming home in the early hours that they saw the estate had been sealed off by gardai.
It is unclear whether the shooting of Mr Walsh is connected to the slaying in nearby Coolock of Anthony Foster almost twelve hours earlier. Last night, officers were working on the theory that Mr Foster had been killed because of a row with a drug-trafficking gang.
The convicted drug dealer was leaving his third-floor flat in Cromcastle Court to collect his children from a nearby creche at 1.45pm yesterday.
GUNMAN
He had reached the ground floor of the flats complex, where his partner was waiting for him, when he was gunned down.
It is believed this was a planned attack as the gunman appeared to lie in wait for his victim, who may have been followed for a number of days prior to his death.
Children were playing near the flat complex when a gunman opened fire on Foster at close range.
Drug disputes have spilled over onto the streets on the Northside this year with a number of shootings. The two latest murders were the first since a gangland hit three months ago. The last victim was drug dealer Anthony Russell, who was gunned down in a pub in Artane. Mr Russell was a key associate of gang leader Christy Griffin, who is now in jail. The Foster murder investigation is being led by Det Supt Seamus Kane from Santry Garda station.
The gardai have appealed for any witnesses who may have seen the gunman in the vicinity of the flats across the roadfrom the Northside shopping centre at lunchtime yesterday to come forward.
They can be contacted at Santry Garda station on 01-6664200 or on the garda confidential telephone line at 1800 666111.
LINKED
The shooting may be linked to another incident which happened close by yesterday in which the owner of a motorcycle shop was tied up on the Malahide Road.
The incident happened just before the shooting at Cromcastle Court and a motorbike stolen from the premises may have been used in the getaway from the scene.

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