Gardaí are investigating a drive-by shooting at a house in Rathkeale, Co Limerick, on Sunday night.
A number of shots were discharged from a firearm at a house located in the west Limerick town.
Sources said a large Garda presence was visible in the town all day Sunday and Monday in response to tensions in the community in the wake of a number of violent incidents. .
Uniformed gardaí supported by members of the Garda Emergency Response Unit were conducting checkpoints in the town on Sunday prior to the gun attack. The Garda helicopter was also present, providing air support.
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A Garda spokesman said the force was investigating the discharge of a firearm in Rathkeale at around 9.15pm on Sunday, adding that “no injuries were reported” and “a technical examination of the scene has been conducted by the Divisional Scenes of Crime Unit”.
“Investigations are ongoing.”
Local Fine Gael councillor Adam Teskey, a former chair of the local community joint policing committee, said he has been “repeatedly calling for extra garda resources” in the town to assist local Supt Michael Fleming and his force.
Rathkeale’s population has surged in recent days due to an influx of Traveller men and women, who gather over the festival period to celebrate marriages and christenings at St Mary’s Church in the town.
The vast majority of visiting Traveller families are peaceful and have never engaged in violence or public disorder. However, some individuals with international crime links are under investigation.
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Just over two weeks ago gardaí, directed by Supt Fleming, conducted a search-and-arrest operation in Rathkeale as part of an investigation into money laundering.
Supt Fleming said the operation aimed to target “the activities” of individuals involved in “serious criminality on a transnational basis”.
Approximately €400,000 in cash and bank accounts was seized at 11 locations in the town.
Suspected rhino horns were also recovered during the raids. These can fetch large sums of money on the black market.
On November 30th this year, a house on New Road in the town was shot at while a number of people, including a child, were present. No injuries were reported at the time.
Last October a van was petrol bombed, while feuding has also seen a man shot and seriously wounded in the past 12 months.
