There is widespread shock in Carlow today, following yesterday evening’s shooting incident at the Fairgreen Shopping Centre.
In a statement, Gardaí say they were alerted to shots being fired in the vicinity of the shopping centre at 6.15 yesterday evening, and on arrival, met a large number of people running from the shopping Centre.
An unarmed uniform unit arriving at the scene observed the suspect exiting the shopping centre.
The suspect then discharged a firearm, identified as a shotgun, into the air.
Plainclothes armed Gardaí drew their firearms and identified themselves, at which point Gardaí report the suspect inflicted a fatal wound on himself.
Gardaí say that no member of An Garda Síochána discharged a weapon.
The deceased is a white Irish national in his early 20s, and his body remains at the scene pending removal to the office of the State Pathologist.
A young girl was treated by paramedics at the scene for a minor leg injury, sustained when she fell while running from the shopping centre.
It is understood that the lone male had walked through the shopping centre and discharged the firearm, into the air, on a number of occasions.
A bottle containing an unknown substance was observed by Gardaí on the deceased, prompting an examination by the Irish Defence Forces Explosives Unit.
The centre and its carpark were cordoned off overnight, and remain so this morning, though the area has now been declared safe by Gardai and the Army Explosives Unit.
It’s understood that the Fairgreen Shopping Centre will not reopen today.
An update will be issued when cars parked within the cordon can be retrieved.
An incident room has been established at Carlow Garda Station, with a Senior Investigating Officer appointed to lead the investigation. A Family Liaison Officer is providing support to the deceased’s family at this time.
Gardaí are urging anyone who may have recorded footage of the incident not to share it on social media platforms or messaging apps, but instead to provide it directly to the investigating team.
Anyone present at Fairgreen Shopping Centre between approximately 6:00pm and 6:30pm yesterday is asked to contact the incident room at Carlow Garda Station.
An air ambulance attended the scene, but no one was taken to hospital following the incident.
Carlow County Council have advised that they will be providing psycho-social supports for those affected by the incident yesterday.
HSE staff will be available to talk to members of the public from 1pm to 5pm today at County Buildings on the Athy Road.
Carlow resident Gemma Flood was in the vicinity at the time – she explains what she saw to KCLR News.
“Well, it was terrifying, my house is adjacent to the Fairgreen, so I would have heard all the sirens and the noises, I actually thought there might have been a car accident, then the people that were evacuated were on my road, I witnessed some of the staff they were shaking, people were hysterical, they were in a state of shock, and they couldn’t believe what was happening.”
Reporter Dayna Kearney was on the scene, and says the army was also called, though they have since left.
“It was believed that the man had some sort of device attached to him, so the army disposal unit came down to make sure that everything was safe, and they have now left. Investigations are ongoing, Gardaí have said that a comprehensive update will be given later on this morning.”
Meanwhile Carlow Kilkenny TD Jennifer Murnane O’Connor expressed the sense of shock in Carlow this morning.
“This is something that we never want or expect to happen in our community, gun violence is very rare in Ireland, and my thoughts are with everybody affected, and the family of the young child that has been injured, I think it’s important to thank our Gardaí, our fire services, our ambulance services, our defense forces for their rapid response, and it is important now that we are mindful, and I am thinking of everybody today, this was just something that no one was expecting.”
Further updates will be provided as they are received.
