THE parish priest local to the Ballyfermot area of west Dublin has hit out at the easy availability of guns on the streets and called for a crackdown. "The flourishing drugs industry and the cartels that dominate this sector must be challenged by a renewed partnership involving community and gardai.
www.drugfreeworld.org &
www.drugscope.org.uk &
www.drugs.ie &
www.garda.ie
Tackling youth unemployment must be prioritised.
If we cannot as a society open opportunities for young people to paricipate fully in the economy, we will not have peaceful communities.
New dynamics are needed to broker solutions to drug debt.
The response must be broader than policing strategies.
It must show a deep understanding of the underlying problems".
In the wake of the callous shooting of six-year-old Sean Scully, Fr Gerry O’Connor has said that teenagers now know where to source guns.
Writing in today’s Herald, Fr O’Connor said that teens could also name hitmen with a reputation for success such was the creeping influence of gang culture in neglected areas of Dublin.
“Teenagers can tell you where you can source a gun, how much it will cost and they hint at naming hitmen with a reputation for accomplishing their tasks,” he says.
“While the listening ear might be dubious, the normalisation of such conversation speaks of a society fragmenting.
REVENGE
“It sadly describes a changing Ireland where the fundamental dignity of human life is diluted,” he said.
Fr O’Connor has lived in the Cherry Orchard area of Dublin for the last 11 years.
“The residents of Cherry Orchard generally live happy and peaceful lives in the midst of the scourge of unemployment,” he said.
But he added that there was anger about repeated “dark events” and citizens are demanding political, policing and economic action.
The priest said that there were six problems that needed urgent action, such as easy access to guns.
“The ease of access to guns must be curtailed. The plentiful supply must be addressed,” he said.
Fr O’Connor said that the language of revenge needed to be scaled back, youth unemployment must be tackled and alternative education methods must be implemented.
*A MAN has been arrested in connection with shooting of an innocent six-year-old boy in the neck.
Sean Scully was blasted as he played on a green area at Croftwood Gardens, in Ballyfermot, west Dublin.
He was just metres from his home and with his friends when a gunman opened fire after 10pm on Friday.
It is understood that the intended target of the shooting was a relative of Sean’s.
A row had broken out between two bothers and the relative, who ran towards a house.
As he was trying to escape, the gunman opened fire, missing the intended target hitting Sean in the neck.
Surgery
Investigating officers yesterday arrested a man in his 30s, in the Ballyfermot area, in connection with the shooting.
He was taken to Ballyfermot garda station where he is being held for questioning under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.
It is understood that the man was arrested for with-holding information.
A garda spokesman said that investigations were ongoing. Gardai have identified at least one other man who is wanted for questioning following the shooting.
“Gardai do not believe the child was the intended target of the shooting and are following a definite line of enquiry in relation to the shooting,” a statement said.
Over the weekend, gardai appealed to the persons involved in the shooting to come forward.
A senior investigating officer was appointed to the incident. The scene was sealed off by the Technical Bureau.
Officers also undertook extensive house-to-house enquires.
Sean’s life was saved when a quick thinking passer-by put pressure on the injury while an ambulance was called.
Eyewitnesses said that the gunman held his head in his hands for a number of seconds after he realised what he had done, while the other man cycled off on a bicycle.
There were a number of children on the green area at the time of the blast.
Members of Sean’s extend family gathered yesterday to support each other at a home in the estate.
“We’ve been getting hundreds of calls all day. We are not interested in talking about it. What has been said in the media is wrong,” one man told the Herald.
Other locals said that the youngster’s immediate family had been with him in the hospital since the shooting.
TERRIBLE
“They’re in the hospital, but I don’t think they want to talk about it at the moment.
“I haven’t seen them come back since. It was terrible what happened. I’d know the little lad from being around and he’s a grand young lad,” one man said.
“I think he’s doing okay in the hospital, that was the last I heard, I think he’s okay,” he added.
Locals have said that blood was gushing from the wound following the shooting.
Sean, who is a senior infant at St Ultan’s Primary School in Cherry Orchard, is in a stable condition in Crumlin Children’s Hospital.
He underwent surgery over the weekend. There are concerns that he may have suffered long-term injuries in the shooting.
Fr Gerry O’Connor, chairman of the board of St Ultan’s Primary School, visited the family home along with school principal Ms Ena Morley.
He said there were no words to describe the shooting, adding: “Across Dublin this type of thing is happening. There seems to be a total disregard for human life.”
He said that the community was in crisis.
“This is a community that is in what can only be described as a state of hurt, bewilderment and pain at this time.
