Ireland

Dublin drug dealer shot as he walked his dog

Gardaí are hunting a gunman who left convicted drug dealer David 'Daithí' Douglas fighting for his life
Gardaí are hunting a gunman who left convicted drug dealer David 'Daithí' Douglas fighting for his life Gardaí are hunting a gunman who left convicted drug dealer David 'Daithí' Douglas fighting for his life

A CONVICTED Dublin drug dealer is fighting for his life after being shot several times close to his home on Sunday night.

David ‘Daithí’ Douglas (54) remains in a critical condition in the Mater Hospital after suffering several gunshot wounds to the upper body.

It is understood a gunman pulled up in a car close to the victim and opened fire as Mr Douglas walked along a footpath. The gunman then sped away from the scene as residents rushed to the victim's aid.

The attack took place as the victim walked his dog near his home on the Killala Road in Cabra, Dublin 7, at around 7.30pm.

A Garda spokesman said: “A male (mid fifties) received a number of gunshot wounds to his body. He was taken by ambulance to the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital in Dublin for treatment. His condition is described as serious.”

Forensic experts have been examining the scene of the shooting, which remained sealed off overnight.

Gardaí in Finglas are appealing for witnesses or anyone who may have any information to contact them.

Mr Douglas is well known to gardaí in the city as a drug dealer with links to dissident paramilitary groups and criminal gangs.

In April 2011, he was convicted of possession of drugs and possession with intent to sell or supply in connection with the seizure of cocaine worth €500,000 on Pearse Street in 2008.

He was given a 10-year sentence with five suspended, with a judge describing him as “the bottom of the pile” as an “aider and abettor” of the drug trafficking organisation.

In 1983 he was sentenced to 12 years in the Special Criminal Court for armed robbery and shooting with intent to murder.

Fianna Fáil election candidate for Dublin Central Mary Fitzpatrick tweeted that the shooting was “unacceptable”, adding: “Authorities must accept their approach to crime is failing urban communities".