THE shooting of two men in a gangland attack yesterday in an industrial area of north Co Dublin is being treated by gardaí as attempted murder.
Shots were fired by a lone gunman as the victims were sitting in a blue Mercedes car in the yard of a company on Killeek Lane in St Margaret's near Dublin Airport.
The driver was hit five times in the head and body, while the passenger was also hit several times.
Both victims were treated at the scene before being taken to hospital where the driver's condition was last night described as critical.
The victims are aged in their thirties and are believed to be truck drivers.
The car in which they were shot was removed yesterday afternoon for forensic examination.
The gunman fled the scene in a vehicle driven by another man following the shooting, which happened at about 11.30am.
Shortly after the attack, gardaí found a black Citroen – the suspected getaway car – on fire at Greenwood Avenue in Coolock.
Two men aged in their thirties were arrested near the scene.
They were last night being detained at two north Dublin garda stations and can be questioned for up to three days.
The gun used in the attack has so far not been recovered.
RTÉ reported that the two men in custody are known to gardaí for their involvement in organised crime and associating with criminals involved in an ongoing feud in Coolock, which has so far cost five lives.
Gardaí are working to establish a motive for the shooting.
They are said to suspect the attack is drugs related, but they do not believe it is connected to the murder earlier this week of 17-year-old Keane Mulready-Woods in Drogheda.
Gardaí investigating the shooting appealed for anyone with information to contact them at Swords Garda Station.
Meanwhile, gardaí last night said DNA tests have confirmed that human remains found in a car in Ballybough in Dublin on Wednesday are those of Keane Mulready-Woods.
