Two men arrested after woman (77) shot at her Monkstown home

Great-grandmother shot at her front door while great grandson (6) slept upstairs

Gardaí at the scene of the shooting of an elderly woman at Oliver Plunkett Avenue, Monkstown. Photograph: Colin Keegan/Collins Dublin.
Gardaí at the scene of the shooting of an elderly woman at Oliver Plunkett Avenue, Monkstown. Photograph: Colin Keegan/Collins Dublin.

Two men have been arrested after a woman in her 70s was shot at the front door of her Monkstown home late on Thursday night.

The men, who are aged 29 and 31, were arrested on Saturday morning following planned searches by gardaí in North and South Co Dublin.

They are being held at Dun Laoghaire Garda Station under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act, 1939.

The 77-year-old great-grandmother was shot by a lone gunman at the front door of her home while her six-year-old great grandson slept in an upstairs bedroom.

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The woman suffered a gunshot wound to her lower leg after which the gunman ran away.

She was treated at the scene at Oliver Plunkett Avenue in south Dublin by gardaí and paramedics before being taken to St Vincent's hospital with injuries which are not thought to be life threatening. The child was unharmed.

Gardaí described the attack as both “highly unusual” and “very, very, callous” and while they do not believe the woman was targeted directly, they said there was “no doubt the house was the intended target”.

One of the woman’s adult grandsons also lives in the house in the quiet cul de sac just a stone’s throw from the centre of the village and although he was at home at the time of the shooting he was uninjured.

The attacker, who did not speak, was wearing dark clothing and was said to be between 5 ft 7 and 5ft 10.

Local people were shocked by the shooting. One local shop worker described the victim as “ a lovely lady”.

She declined to be identified but said the woman was a regular visitor to her shop and a woman “who would do anything for anyone. It is just so shocking that something like this could happen here.”

Anyone with information is being urged to contact (01) 6665000, (01) 6665032,or the confidential line on 1800666111.