A leader of one of the factions in the Drogheda gang war has narrowly avoided a hitman’s bullet in a botched day light murder bid.
The young thug, who is in his 20s, was in Donaghmede Shopping Centre in North County Dublin at 5.20pm on Tuesday.
A lone gunman approached and sprayed bullets in his direction but the gangster was able to duck and run as the bullets landed nearby.
A source said: “Early indications are that this shooting is directly linked to the ongoing feud, investigators believe the man targeted was set upon because he was involved in the most recent shooting at a house in Drogheda.
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“It’s believed a number of people involved in the feud have moved out of the town and based themselves in North County Dublin – this man is one of them.
“He is from the Moneymore area of Drogheda and is suspected to be the leader of one of the factions.
“This was an attempt by one of the gangs to launch a decapitation strike against the leader of their opposing faction.”
A garda spokesman appealed for witnesses and said gardai had begun an investigation into the incident.
It is not known if they have spoken to the intended victim as yet.
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A spokesman said: "Gardaí are at the scene of an incident that occurred outside the Donaghmede Shopping Centre, Dublin 13 at 5.20pm, the 14th of May 2019.
"Shots were fired at a male. No injuries were sustained. Investigations are ongoing."
The car was found burnt out a short time later on the Rathmullen Road.
There was also an arson attack on a house in Moneymore.
There followed several days of tit-for-tat strikes against both sides of the gangs with gardai drafting in more armed units to deal with the ensuing chaos.
There are now fears that the release of a major criminal in the area will escalate the feud further. That man, who is serving time for attacking a garda, will be released in the coming days.
Man injured in shooting in Drogheda, Co Louth
The gardai in Drogheda and surrounding areas have launched Operation Strattus, designed to strike back at the gangs.
That operation has seen a large number of armed gardai placed in Drogheda to confront the gangs – in recent days they have made a massive seizure of drugs in the town.
They also arrested a man in his late teens when they discoveredCocaine and cannabis herb.
The gardai released details of their operations to date which include the seizure of firearms, pipe bombs and other weaponry in searches.
