An internal Garda investigation is under way into the death of two raiders in a foiled post office robbery in Lusk, north Co Dublin yesterday.
The men were part of an armed gang that tried to raid the post office in the Village Store just after 8am yesterday. The post office is at the rear of the shop.
Gardaí said one loaded gun - a semi-automatic weapon - was found at the scene with other weapons, including a sledgehammer. The gun was undergoing forensic examination yesterday "to definitively establish as to whether or not it was fired", Garda spokesman Supt Kevin Donohoe said. A semi-automatic weapon can fire several rounds of ammunition in a matter of seconds.
The sledgehammer was used in an attempt to break the protective glass barrier in front of the post-office counter. The gang had been under Garda surveillance and it is understood that members of the Emergency Response Unit were behind the counter protecting the postmistress at the time of the attempted raid.
The post office was not open to the public at that time, but postal workers had been collecting post moments earlier.
Gardaí named the dead men as Colm Griffin (33) from Canon Lillis Avenue and Eric Hopkins (24) from Lower Rutland Street, both in Dublin. One raider died at the scene while the other died from his wounds at Beaumont Hospital.
The deaths of the two men were regretted by gardaí, Supt Donohoe said in a Garda statement. "An Garda Síochána regrets the loss of life in any circumstances and conveys its condolences to the families of those who have died."
Amnesty International has called for an independent investigation into the incident.
Supt Donohoe said the Deputy Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy had appointed Chief Supt Kevin Ludlow from Anglesea Street station in Cork to conduct an inquiry into the incident "as is normal in circumstances like this".
While the raid was foiled and no civilians or gardaí were injured, he said the operation could not be described as "successful" because two people had died.
"But the outcome is as we find it. No one else sustained any injuries which is good."
Asked if procedures were followed by armed gardaí in warning the raiders to drop their weapons, Supt Donohoe said: "The facts of this will be disclosed as our investigation goes on."
Gardaí were waiting and when the four raiders entered the Village Store, they were immediately challenged. Some witnesses reported seeing up to 20 gardaí at the scene. Gardaí had been using a camper van. Some locals said it had been parked in the village overnight.
Supt Donohoe said he could not give any more detail about the specifics of the surveillance, but it was part of an "ongoing operation".
Four people including one woman were arrested in connection with the incident and last night they were being detained under section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act at Coolock, Clontarf, Blanchardstown and Swords Garda stations.
A full technical and forensic examination of the scene was being conducted by the Garda Technical Bureau.
Supt Donohoe said the Garda Commissioner "recognises the dangers faced by members of An Garda Síochána in the execution of their duty on a daily basis, particularly when confronting armed criminals, and expresses his appreciation to the gardaí involved in this operation in preventing the commission of a serious criminal act".
It is understood that about six staff were in the shop and post office at the time of the attempted raid. The shop, which opens at 6 am, is normally quite busy by 8am with people buying breakfast rolls and newspapers, but locals said it was quieter yesterday morning.
The criminal investigation is being conducted primarily under Assistant Commissioner Dermot Jennings with Assistant Commissioner Martin Callinan.
Supt Donohoe said this was not part of Operation Anvil - the Garda clampdown on armed crime - as that was confined to the Dublin Metropolitan area while Lusk was in the Louth-Meath division.
