A man was approached from behind by a lone gunman who shot him in the buttock and again in the groin at Cherry Orchard Drive, Ballyfermot, on March 7th, 2004, Dublin City Coroner's Court heard yesterday.
Brendan Cox (40), Cloiginn Road, Ballyfermot, was taken by ambulance to St James's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Det Sgt Denis Smith of Ballyfermot Garda station told the court that Mr Cox was singled out for the shooting and that it was not a gang-related or drug-related shooting. No one has been charged. Det Sgt Smith said a file was sent to the DPP but there was insufficient evidence and the file remained open. The jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing under the direction of the coroner. The court heard that Mr Cox was walking back to his girlfriend's house accompanied by a friend, Paul Bermingham, at approximately 7.30pm when he was shot in the right buttock by an unknown gunman dressed in black.
He fell to the pavement and the gunman shot him a second time in the right groin, fatally wounding him. Mr Bermingham told the court: "We were talking and laughing and all of a sudden I heard a bang. I hit the ground and when I turned around I saw a man standing over Brendan with the shotgun pointing towards him and then there was a second shot. Brendan was lying on the ground and unconscious." Mr Bermingham said he did not recognise the assailant, who was wearing a hood, a jacket zipped up to his nose and white gloves, the court heard.
Coroner Dr Brian Farrell appealed to any members of the public who had information to come forward. "This was a violent and criminal act - an unlawful killing by an unknown gunman. I can't detect any reason for this. It came out of the blue, but it was not a random shooting. This man was a target," Dr Farrell told the court.