A man who died in a shooting incident at a shopping centre in Co Carlow had earlier walked through the retail premises firing a shotgun in the air, gardai have confirmed.
Assistant Garda Commissioner Paula Hilman said the suspect, a white Irish man aged in his 20s, then shot himself outside the Fairgreen Shopping Centre in Carlow town after being challenged by armed gardai.
The man, named locally as Evan Fitzgerald, aged in his 20s, from Kiltegan in Co Wicklow, had appeared in court last year along with two others on firearms offences.
It is understood he had been facing an imminent further court appearance.
At a previous hearing last year, where the then-steel yard worker was granted bail with strict conditions, the court was told he had a “fascination” with firearms but that the interest was more of a hobby rather than a “nefarious” one.
By Monday evening, a technical examination of the car park scene in Carlow had concluded, but the scene remained held and the Fairgreen Shopping Centre remained closed.
Ms Hilman said the incident on Sunday evening was a “terrifying experience” for shoppers who fled the building when the gunman starting shooting in the air.
Speaking to media at Carlow Garda Station on Monday, the assistant commissioner confirmed that no one else was injured by any of the shots fired.
She said a young girl sustained a minor leg injury when she fell while running from the centre.
Earlier, the scene of the fatality outside the Tesco store was declared safe after an examination by Irish army explosives officers.
Gardai had called the bomb disposal experts to the scene after observing a bottle containing an unknown substance on the body of the dead man.
Irish premier, Taoiseach Micheal Martin, said he was “deeply shocked and saddened” at the incident.
Ms Hilman said gardai attended the incident after receiving multiple reports of shots being fired in the shopping centre around 6.15pm.
“Gardai responded to the scene and met a large number of people running from the shopping centre,” she told reporters.
“An unarmed uniform unit arriving at the scene observed the suspect exiting the shopping centre.
“The suspect discharged a firearm – a shotgun – into the air.
“Another plain clothes armed garda unit responding drew their official firearms and identified themselves as armed gardai.
“The suspect discharged the firearm again, self-inflicting a fatal wound.
“No member of An Garda Siochana discharged a weapon.
“An Garda Siochana now understands that the lone male had walked through the shopping centre and had discharged the firearm, into the air, on a number of occasions.
“No person was injured by the shots discharged.
“A young girl, in the shopping centre with her parents, suffered a minor leg injury when she fell while running from the scene.
“This was meant to be a normal day out on a bank holiday weekend. This was a terrifying experience for every person that was present in the Fairgreen Shopping Centre yesterday evening.”
The body of the man was removed from the scene on Monday afternoon, and taken to the mortuary in Dublin.
A post mortem is to be carried out by the State Pathologist tomorrow.
Ms Hilman added: “I would like to acknowledge the management and business community of the Fairgreen Shopping Centre for their assistance and support to the public yesterday evening.
“I also want to acknowledge the assistance of all the emergency services yesterday evening, local fire brigade, ambulance services and the Defence Forces for their professionalism and assistance.
“I specifically want to highlight the response of local Garda members, who on receipt of a call of a very dangerous incident immediately responded to protect their community. Their courage was exemplary.
“An Garda Siochana is conscious that this serious incident has an impact on the local community and local Garda management will work with the local community, business community and other state agencies in the coming days to help the community come to terms with this incident.
“An Garda Siochana is also very aware that there is a family grieving the death of their loved one at this time and An Garda Siochana appeals for privacy for the family.”
An incident room has been established at Carlow Garda Station, with a senior investigating officer (SIO) appointed to lead the investigation.
The Garda said a family liaison officer was providing support to the dead man’s family.
Local Fine Gael councillor Fergal Browne said people in the town had been left terrified.
“People were obviously terrified, a bank holiday Sunday, going into town to do their shopping,” he told the PA news agency.
“People ran from the centre crying and upset.
“There was a bunch of foreign students in the area, who could not believe they were caught up in the middle of all of it.”
Mr Browne added: “It’s very upsetting for everyone who was involved in it or who witnessed it.”
Gardai have appealed for witnesses to come forward.
They have also urged anyone who may have recorded footage of the incident not to share it on social media platforms or messaging apps, but instead provide it directly to the investigating team.
