Gardaí were last night seeking a man in his 40s in west Cork following a shooting incident in which 50-year-old man was beaten around the face and head before being shot and wounded.
The incident happened at a remote house in Toormore near Schull in West Cork at around 7.30pm when the 50-year-old man went to confront the other man following an incident with the 50-year-old man's teenage son.
The 50-year-old man had just knocked at the front door of the house when the other man suddenly came around the side of the house armed with a .22 rifle which he swung and clubbed the older man to the ground.
The 50-year-old man suffered a suspected fractured cheekbone in the attack and was attempting to get back to his feet when his attacker aimed the rifle at him and discharged a shot which grazed his head.
The injured man managed to make his way back to his van where his teenage son was waiting and he managed to make his way to Bantry General Hospital where he was last night being assessed though it's understood that his injuries are not life threatening.
Gardai were called to the scene and surrounded the house though it wasn't clear last night when the man in his 40s was still in the building or whether he had fled the scene armed with the rifle.
The incident happened in the general Toormore area where Frenchwoman Sophie Toscan du Plantier was murdered in December 1996 but Gardai are satisfied that the incident is not in any way related to the Frenchwoman's killing.