Update 9.40pm: More national Garda units have been brought in to investigate the latest gangland shooting in Dublin.
Superintendent Liam Carolan from Blanchardstown Garda Station, says they have launched a murder investigation.
Superintendent Carolan said: “A number of other national Garda units have joined the investigation.
“A senior detective has been appointed to head up the team.”
Earlier:
A man has been shot dead in a suburban park in Dublin in a suspected gangland assassination.
It is understood the man, named locally as Mark Desmond, was a well-known criminal who was involved with gangland activity.
The victim, aged 41, suffered a number of gunshot wounds to the head at Griffeen Valley Park in Lucan shortly after 8pm last night.
A passer-by who reported hearing a number of shots alerted gardaí.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene once paramedics arrived.
A blue-coloured Mazda 6 car, with an 05 registration plate, has been found burnt-out nearby at Hayden’s Lane.
A handgun – possibly the murder weapon – was also recovered from the vehicle.
The victim had been targeted before in a shooting but escaped with non-life-threatening wounds.
He has previously been charged with a double murder but the charges were later withdrawn.
He was also convicted of unlawful possession of firearms with intent to endanger life. That conviction was later overturned.
The scene of his killing has been sealed off for a technical examination by forensic experts.
The body has been removed for a post-mortem.
The Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald has condemned the attack and described it as a “callous disregard for human life displayed by people intent on murder and mayhem”.
Gardaí have appealed for anyone with information to get in contact.
