A 20-MONTH-OLD baby has been treated in hospital after he was grazed by shattered glass during an attempt to shoot dead a man who was taking care of him.
The target of the shooting, a Dubliner in his 20s, was wounded in the neck and back after up to six shots were fired at him. He underwent emergency surgery immediately and is expected to survive.
Gardaí believe they know the identity of the attacker and also the motive for the attempted murder. Senior Garda sources said the shooting is linked to a long- running personal row.
The incident occurred just after 7pm on Friday. The victim was in the driver's seat of a VW Golf car at Buttercup Park, Darndale, north Dublin. He was playing with the baby, whose mother had just left the car to have her hair done.
A gunman walked up to the car and began discharging shots from a revolver through the window. Gardaí believe at least five shots were fired and possibly a sixth.
Eyewitnesses have told gardaí the gunman did not fire the shots quickly and escape. Instead, he fired a number of shots, looked into the car to assess the victim's condition and then opened fire again several times before leaving.
The baby was taken by ambulance to Temple Street hospital. After being treated and undergoing a full examination, he was discharged.
The victim was much more seriously injured and was taken by ambulance to Beaumont Hospital where he underwent surgery.
Gardaí believe that the victim was targeted by somebody known to him. The victim had just been released from prison, where he was serving a sentence for abusing his former partner and their child.
