A suspected murder attempt outside a north Dublin school on Tuesday is believed to be related to an ongoing feud between two families in the area.
A man fired a number of shots from a handgun outside Riversdale Community College in Blanchardstown, Dublin at about 3.40pm, just before the school rush of parents arriving to collect students.
He was seen fleeing in the direction of Corduff Grove estate. The target is suspected to be another man in his twenties who was at the school to collect a relative. No-one was injured in the shooting.
Several associates of one of the feuding factions were arrested on Tuesday evening for the purposes of a search in relation to the shooting but were later released.
There was a large, ongoing operation in the Corduff area on Tuesday evening involving armed detectives, the Emergency Response Unit and, at one point, the Garda helicopter, as gardaí carried out searches and attempted to track down the gunman.
Children at the secondary school had just started leaving their final classes for the day when the shots were fire. They were immediately called back into safety by staff.
A call was sent out over a PA system and those students who had just begun to leave their classrooms were rushed back inside to safety. Nobody was injured. Gardaí arrived in force and swept the area with the support of the helicopter.
Tensions have been rising in the Corduff area in recent months due to an ongoing feud between two families who are suspected of involvement in low and medium level drug dealing.
In February, gunfire was exchanged between members of the two factions in a housing estate in the area. There have been a series of other gun attacks on houses since the start of the year although none have resulted in injury.
Local Fine Gael councillor Kieran Dennison, who chairs the joint policing committee in the area, said the fact that the shooting occurred outside a school was “a concern for everybody in the community”.
In a statement, the Dublin & Dun Laoghaire Education & Training Board, which is the school’s patron, said it was aware of an incident involving gunfire at the premises.
“All pupils and staff are safe and well. When the nature of the incident became apparent, the school requested all pupils to stay within the school for a period of time to ensure their safety and wellbeing,” it said.
“The school also contacted parents and in due course all pupils were able to leave as normal. The school will reopen tomorrow fully as normal.”
Psychological services are to be supplied to any students who require them.
Local superintendent William Carolan has appealed for witnesses to the attack or those who noticed any suspicious activity in the area in recent days to contact Blanchardstown Garda station at 01-6669700 or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.
