Gardaí in Dublin are investigating the third gangland-style murder in 10 days after a well-known criminal was shot dead in the north inner city on Thursday night.
Despite the spate of killings the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, yesterday reiterated his view that Ireland is one of the world's safest places in terms of the incidence of homicide.
The victim, Terry Dunleavy (27), originally from Marino, Dublin, was shot in the head outside Croke Villas flats on Sackville Avenue off Ballybough Road at 10.10pm.
A lone gunman struck just after Mr Dunleavy got out of a car outside the flats. The gunman fired several shots at Mr Dunleavy in the car-park.
The victim managed to flee to a nearby stairwell but was pursued and shot again a number of times. Five shots were discharged, and Mr Dunleavy was hit four times in the head.
The gunman left on a moped which was found burned out on St Bridget's Road in Drumcondra. Mr Dunleavy was taken to the Mater hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Members of the Garda Technical Bureau examined the shooting scene yesterday.
The vehicle, which Mr Dunleavy did not own, was taken away for examination. A second car at the scene which belonged to the dead man was also examined.
Gardaí believe the murder was well planned and that his attacker had been watching Mr Dunleavy for some time. He had been living on and off with his parents at Annadale Crescent, Marino, and at other addresses.
Detectives fear his killing may lead to similar revenge attacks. The dead man and his associates have been embroiled in a bitter dispute with other drug-dealing criminals for the last 18 months.
Gardaí believe the dispute had escalated and they are examining this row as a motive for the killing. Mr Dunleavy had three times used firearms to threaten his rivals in recent weeks, according to gardaí.
Other links to the drugs trade are also being examined as a possible motive. But sources said that, while he was a known cannabis dealer, he was not a key player in the illicit drugs trade. He was regarded as a "hard man" in the north inner city who had been involved in a number of physical confrontations in recent years, making many enemies in the process, Garda sources say.
Three years ago he went on trial for shooting a man in Fairview Park in 1998. The trial collapsed after a newspaper printed a picture of Mr Dunleavy being brought to the court in handcuffs. The court had been told he shot his victim in the leg because he believed the man was selling heroin to his cousin.
Mr Dunleavy was also known to have threatened people with firearms in the Marino area where he grew up. He threatened one neighbour with a shotgun during the course of attempting to rob the man's house, the Garda sources said.
Mr McDowell said that while he condemned the murder it was linked to the drugs trade. "These people deal in death day in, day out," he said. "They tend to respond to their rivals by handing out death sentences."
He added that Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy was very concerned about the theft of firearms, and he said he would strengthen the law on firearms.
On Tuesday Joseph Rafferty (28), originally from the north inner city, was shot dead outside his apartment in the Ongar Park estate in west Dublin.
On April 3rd, Jimmy Curran (42) was shot dead as he sat drinking in the Green Lizard pub in the south inner city.
Supt John Leahy, of Fitzgibbon Street, who is leading the Dunleavy investigation, appealed for anybody who was in the vicinity of Croke Villas on Thursday night to come forward.
Gardaí can be contacted at 01-6668400.