A 27-YEAR-OLD man who escaped two assassination attempts this year was in Garda custody last night following a gangland-style shooting in Limerick city that left a 20-year-old man fighting for his life in hospital.
Daniel Phillips from Ballinacurra Weston in Limerick underwent emergency surgery yesterday to have bullets removed from his head and stomach following the shooting.
Mr Phillips was driving a black Volkswagen Passat at 9.30pm in the St John’s Square area of Limerick city on Monday night when a gunman on a bicycle fired two volleys at the car shattering the back window.
Mr Phillips had to be dragged into the back seat by one of the occupants while the car was driven to the Mid-Western Regional Hospital with the injured driver bleeding heavily.
Mr Phillips was later transferred to Cork University Hospital where he underwent surgery yesterday.
The main suspect for the shooting is a convicted criminal who escaped two assassination attempts in recent months.
He was among the two men and one woman arrested by gardaí within an hour of the gun attack on Monday night. Armed members of the Emergency Response Unit were at the scene within seconds of the attack, while the Regional Support Unit was also on patrol.
All three suspects were still in custody last night under section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act, which enables gardaí to detain them for up to seven days.
The chief suspect, who has a lengthy list of convictions, was released from prison last year. Since then he has escaped two attempts on his life.
The most recent attempt took place just a short distance from Monday night’s shooting when he was targeted by a gunman in a bogus taxi.
Last January he was also lucky to escape serious injury when he was shot at while sitting in a car near Thomond Park stadium where thousands of rugby fans were attending a Munster match. Gardaí met with the man recently and warned him to leave the city as his life was in danger.
Sources believe the latest shooting was a reprisal for earlier attempts on his life.
The gunman fired seven shots at the car being driven by Mr Phillips, according to gardaí.
Detectives are confident CCTV footage taken from the area will prove crucial in the inquiry.