Latest news with #EvanFitzgerald
Irish Times
10 hours ago
- Irish Times
Carlow shooting witness says she saw gunman with another male
Evan Fitzgerald , the gunman who fired shots into the air in a Carlow shopping centre before taking his own life, interacted with another young man before opening fire, according to a witness statement taken by gardaí . The witness also described how, before the shooting, she pleaded with Mr Fitzgerald not to do anything after he told her 'this is going to be really loud'. Mr Fitzgerald (22), a steelyard worker from Portrushen, Kiltegan, Co Wicklow, fired a number of shots into the air in the busy Fairgreen Shopping Centre in Carlow Town at about 6.15pm on Sunday, June 1st, before taking his own life. At the time he was facing charges relating to the possession of a military rifle and handgun which he had allegedly attempted to buy on the dark web. READ MORE It has since emerged undercover gardaí sold him the guns, which they had decommissioned, after being tipped off that Mr Fitzgerald was attempting to source weapons on the internet. The exact reason behind Mr Fitzgerald's decision to open fire in the shopping centre remains unclear. All the shots were fired into the air and gardaí have said they do not believe he intended to harm anyone. Garda sources say CCTV shows Mr Fitzgerald entering the shopping centre alone and that there is nothing to indicate he was acting with others. One woman, who asked not to be identified due to security concerns, said she was upstairs in the shopping centre nursing her newborn baby when she spotted Mr Fitzgerald and another young man. She said the pair were standing near some amusement machines and that one of the men was going through a bag. 'They were smiling at each other, and he was showing something to the other guy. The other guy had his phone out and holding it in a way that kind of looked like he was filming,' the woman told The Irish Times. 'They were definitely together. There was no doubt about that.' She said the 'taller, thinner' young man then departed the scene, leaving Mr Fitzgerald behind. The woman, who worked as a teacher, said she suspected Mr Fitzgerald was 'getting up to mischief'. Mr Fitzgerald then passed the woman as she was holding her newborn. 'He looked at me and said, 'just so you know, this is going to be really loud',' she said. The woman said she responded 'how about don't, then'. She repeated this a number of times but the man ignored her. She said he had an object in his hand which she thought may have been a paintball gun. Mr Fitzgerald did not seem agitated and upset at this point, she said. Mr Fitzgerald then left the area and went down the stairs. He passed the woman's partner who was coming up to join her. The man had noticed that Mr Fitzgerald was holding a shotgun and told his partner they needed to hide. The couple and their baby hid in a conference room where they heard six or seven shots. Both were left badly shaken by the incident. Gardaí later took statements from both witnesses. The woman, whose mother was downstairs by the Tesco store, said she thought people in the shopping centre were being shot. It took a long time for her to verify her mother was safe, she said. The woman's mother said she took cover behind some trolleys while the shots went off. 'I was laying there on my belly, hoping he wouldn't notice me,' she said. 'I laid there for the longest time, until I started hearing the gates of the Tesco coming down. 'So I stood up, and then a lovely police officer came over, and he just ushered me out the door and said go home. 'I had no idea where my family were. The first shot, for all I knew, killed my grandson.'
BreakingNews.ie
2 days ago
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Commissioner ‘met obligations' after TD criticises Carlow shooting response
The Garda Commissioner 'met his obligations' around whether he was required to inform the Justice Minister about an undercover operation, a spokesman said, after an opposition TD raised questions about a man who died while on bail as a result of the probe. Labour TD Alan Kelly told the Dáil on Thursday that he had informed Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan about details around the death of a man 'charged after an undercover Garda operation'. Advertisement Evan Fitzgerald, 22, from Kiltegan, Co Wicklow, died by suicide with a gun after discharging it at a shopping centre in Co Carlow earlier this month. He had been awaiting trial on weapons charges from the previous year, which Mr Kelly said related to an undercover Garda operation. Evan Fitzgerald. Photo: Family handout/An Garda Siochana. Commissioner Drew Harris is required by law to inform Mr O'Callaghan about 'significant developments' on a range of topics, including the protection of life and matters that may affect public confidence in An Garda Siochana. While not specifically confirming if the Commissioner had informed the minister about the matter, a spokesman said on Thursday that the Commissioner 'met his reporting obligations' on the matter. Advertisement Mr Kelly told the Dáil that Mr Harris had not briefed Mr O'Callaghan about the death of Mr Fitzgerald while on bail after being charged as a result of an undercover Garda operation. He said: 'On June 1, Evan Fitzgerald tragically and very publicly took his own life after getting bail on being charged after an undercover Garda operation. 'Why did the Garda Commissioner not brief the Minister for Justice on the details of this case and the facts that there was an undercover operation and that the guns were supplied by An Garda Siochana?' Mr Kelly said he had to ring Mr O'Callaghan about the circumstances of Mr Fitzgerald's arrest. Advertisement Alan Kelly TD. Photo: Niall Carson/PA. 'Is it appropriate and right that I, as a member of the opposition, had to ring the Minister for Justice about this and inform him about it? 'Is it correct that I had to tell him to go to the Garda Commissioner to ask him about the full details of this case?' He questioned whether the full details would have been known if he had not informed the Justice Minister about the matter. Mr Kelly said the Commissioner had a duty to inform the minister about 'any major issues' under section 41 of the Garda Siochana Act 2005. Advertisement Responding to the comments, Tánaiste Simon Harris said it was 'a complex case' and he was not privy to when the Garda Commissioner does or does not use the provision in the Act. 'That is a matter between the Commissioner and the minister, but I understand the Minister for Justice has sought further information from the Garda Commissioner on the case.' Mr Harris also said he supported comments made by Taoiseach Micheál Martin on the need for a review of bail laws. Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA. Mr O'Callaghan previously said he had spoken to the Commissioner about various issues raised about how gardai operate, including the Carlow shooting incident. Advertisement On Tuesday, he said: 'I'm not the person who's there to supervise operationally what An Garda Siochana are doing. 'I ask the Commissioner questions that are of concern to me, he gives me answers in respect to them, that communication is confidential. 'I have no difficulty in telling you the issues I raised with him, obviously what he says back to me is a confidential process.' On Thursday, a spokesman for the Commissioner said An Garda Siochana does not comment on third party remarks. However, the spokesman noted that the legislation in question had actually been replaced by the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024 at the time of Mr Fitzgerald's death. Garda Commissioner Drew Harris. Photo: Garrett White/PA. That Act states that the Commissioner 'shall keep the Minister and the Secretary General of the Department of Justice fully informed' of matters relating to significant developments concerning preservation of peace and public order; the protection of life, property and security; significant developments that might adversely affect public confidence or performance of An Garda Siochana; matters relevant to accountability of the Government to the Oireachtas; and any other matters that the Commissioner believes should be brought to the Minister's attention'. The spokesman said: 'On this particular matter, the Commissioner has met his reporting obligations to the Minister under 36.1 of the Policing, Security and Community Safety 2024. 'An Garda Siochana does not comment on the detail of meetings between the Commissioner and the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.' The spokesman noted that two other individuals remain before the courts in relation to the offences Mr Fitzgerald was charged with. He added: 'In general, and without commenting on any specific case, An Garda Siochana uses a range of internationally recognised investigative techniques when tackling serious crimes such as drug dealing and procuring of firearms, either of which could then be used to cause significant harm to the public. Ireland 'Shocking' level of misinformation around Carlow s... Read More 'One of these is controlled deliveries. In controlled deliveries if any material is used it is safe or made safe by the law enforcement agency before being used, i.e. firearms are deactivated.' The spokesman said: 'Following allegations being published by a national newspaper in May, the Garda Commissioner referred these allegations to Fiosru for independent examination in line with the 'incidents of concern' provision in the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act, and relevant material was provided. 'As stated by the Commissioner, Fiosru has informed An Garda Siochana that it would not be taking any further action on the matter.'
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Irish Times
Man pleads guilty in dark web firearms charge
One of three Co Wicklow men arrested following the discovery of two firearms purchased off the dark web has pleaded guilty to possessing one of the weapons. Daniel Quinn Burke, whose address was given as Allendale Lawn, Baltinglass, appeared before Naas Circuit Court on Wednesday along with Shane Kinsella, whose address was given as Tynock, Kiltegan. Mr Quinn Burke, previously described as an apprentice mechanic, pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm, a Remington semi-automatic pistol on March 2nd, 2024, at Ponsonby Bridge, near Straffan, Co Kildare . Defending barrister Aisling Murphy told Judge Elva Duffy that the defendant, aged 22, had not been in court before. READ MORE Barrister Mark Gibbons, representing Mr Kinsella, asked that the case against his client be adjourned 'for mention or progress'. Mr Kinsella did not address the court. The judge said she would seek a probation report on behalf of Mr Quinn Burke, who was remanded on continuing bail. His case was adjourned to October 7th. The case against Mr Kinsella was adjourned to July 18th. At an initial hearing at Naas District Court on March 4th, 2024, it was alleged that officers attached to the Garda National Organised Crime Bureau and the Emergency Response Unit performed a controlled stop of a vehicle at Ponsonby Bridge. A third man, Evan Fitzgerald , then 21, a steel company worker, whose address was given as Portrushen, Kiltegan, died in a shooting incident at a Carlow shopping centre on June 1st. Mr Kinsella, described as a student, was then aged 20. The trio were charged following the discovery of a Heckler & Koch rifle, a Remington Rand semi-automatic pistol and a total of 42 rounds of ammunition. [ Garda inquiry into Evan Fitzgerald followed tip-off about Irish person trying to buy guns on darknet Opens in new window ] At the District Court hearing before Judge Desmond Zaidan, Det Gda Gavin Curran said he believed the items found were not destined for use by organised criminals and he believed that the guns and bullets were to be used for shooting purposes in a wooded area. The garda said the value of the firearms was in the region of €2,700 and were bought on the Darknet. Referring to Evan Fitzgerald, he said the defendant has a fascination with firearms and 'it's more of an interest or a hobby' rather than for 'nefarious purposes'. The court was also told that the weapons and ammunition were delivered by face-to-face delivery. The garda said the defendants are lifelong friends. The arrests were part of an operation to combat firearms trafficking.
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Evan Fitzgerald case shows why gardaí cannot operate on a ‘trust us' basis
The truism that policing exists in a state of perpetual controversy punctuated by crises has been brought into sharp focus recently. Controversies involving An Garda Síochána and the cases of Tina Satchwell (Dingivan), Michael Gaine and now Evan Fitzgerald are, to put it mildly, concerning. It must irritate conscientious and professional gardaí to listen to those of us who do not have to contend with the varied and enormous challenges of policing as we comment with the benefit of hindsight or opine from a position of academic expertise. But the unique nature of policing and the exceptional powers vested in sworn police officers require that a policing service is accountable whenever there is a question mark over its competence. Effective oversight and accountability are not an impediment to policing. These are, indeed, a necessary condition if it is to be done effectively. It is simply untenable to seek to operate on a 'trust us' basis. Trust must be earned and not presumed and it must never be taken for granted even if surveys show a high degree of public trust in policing. READ MORE To operate as an accountable policing service, Garda management must be comfortable with the duty to provide evidence-based justification in various settings where transparency is required. To be fair, the current Garda Commissioner has been diligent in his engagement with the Policing Authority (now the PCSA) and Oireachtas committees. His successor will also have to engage, perhaps less visibly, with the newly established Board of An Garda Síochána. The media play a crucial role in ensuring robust accountability. But an appropriate balance is not always maintained between crime stories that are clearly Garda-sourced and investigative journalism that probes issues of competence or corruption in relation to policing. Garda representative bodies will squander whatever political capital they have if they do not engage in a more constructive manner with the new commissioner Both can coexist, but there is self-evidently a prevalence of what is called 'copaganda' in much coverage of crime and criminal justice matters. Influencing or shaping media coverage of crime is no proxy for accountability. Recently acknowledged improvements in the reliability and credibility of Garda crime data should be the primary basis upon which An Garda Síochána presents in the public square, not manipulative or salacious briefings. However, it is unlikely that these can ever be eliminated as a news currency of value. The Tina Satchwell (Dingivan) case is now being reviewed at the request of the Garda Commissioner with a report to be presented in due course to the Policing and Community Safety Authority and the Minister for Justice. The Michael Gaine murder investigation, which is live, is being peer-reviewed in a routine manner. The Evan Fitzgerald case – in which, thankfully, a higher victim count was avoided – raises a number of disturbing questions . On what basis was the young man from Kiltegan, Co Wicklow, assessed as sufficiently low risk for gardaí to consent to bail being granted? Why did it take the public intervention of the judge involved to correct a media report that gardaí had objected to bail being granted? Why did it take until the Garda Commissioner appeared before an Oireachtas committee for the story to emerge that non-functioning ammunition had been supplied to Fitzgerald by An Garda Síochána in a controlled delivery as part of an undercover operation? On what basis did Fiosrú (formerly Gsoc ) reach the conclusion, in uncharacteristically quick time, that no further investigation was required? The recruitment of a new Garda Commissioner presents an opportunity, within the framework of new structures that should have been in place much sooner, to address problems of policing culture that have frustrated the efforts of the current commissioner to drive a reform agenda. The role of the new Garda Board will be of vital importance in this connection, and if there are tensions between Garda management and the board, that could actually be a positive sign. Garda representative bodies will squander whatever political capital they may have if they do not engage in a more constructive manner with the new commissioner. Maintaining an oppositional stance to reforms that have been implemented and are unlikely to be reversed is futile. Personalising disagreements with garda management is a waste of energy. In the period from 2017-2018 when the Commission on the Future of Policing consulted with rank-and-file members of An Garda Síochána and middle management, it was crystal clear that there was a keen appetite for reform within the policing service. Many ideas put forward, especially by younger gardaí, were excellent and were adopted enthusiastically by the commission. The time lost in implementing the recommendations of the commission is regrettable, but many of the reforms implemented – which are probably not as transformational as sometimes claimed – provide a solid basis upon which to proceed with a degree of confidence. The new commissioner will start with an unenviable list of ongoing controversies. Their job is to ensure that these do not become crises. This is a slightly better context than the one in which the current commissioner commenced his tenure, which was, most definitely, a context of deep crisis. Donncha O'Connell is an established professor of law in University of Galway. He was a member of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Irish Times
Garda media approach shifts to calm online bigotry
The Garda media approach that identified the ethnicity of the man involved in the shooting incident in Carlow likely stopped a spiral of online misinformation developing into a real-world protest. In a highly unusual move, just hours after events at Fairgreen Shopping Centre on June 1st, the Garda press office released a statement saying the man was 'a white Irish national in his 20s'. The lengthy press release also noted that 'a young girl, in the shopping centre with her parents, suffered a minor leg injury when she fell while running from the scene' and that 'No member of An Garda Síochána discharged a weapon'. Each fact countered misinformation flooding social media which suggested the gunman was an asylum seeker or a terrorist, that a boy was shot, that there had been a 'mass shooting' and 'that the gunman was gunned down by armed gardaí'. READ MORE One tweet seen by nearly six million people reported 'Today's Shopping Mall Massacre, which saw a 9-year-old girl shot by a man who had explosives strapped to his body, has enraged the General Public'. Later, details emerged that Evan Fitzgerald (22) had fired a weapon in the shopping centre before turning the gun on himself. By quickly expanding on the facts, the Garda effectively pushed back against the onslaught of fake news that had appeared even before the crime scene tape was in place. Asked why it went into such detail about the injured child, the press office said it was aware of commentary that a child had been taken to hospital 'with the clear implication being that a child had been shot and may die'. Typically, Garda press releases in the immediate aftermath of an event give just bare-bones details. The assailant's gender might be given, a rough idea of age and in some cases, additional, though vague, information such as 'known to the victim'. It's up to crime reporters at the scene or using their contacts to fill in the details to feed the 24-hour news cycle that won't wait for official statements. Journalists routinely confirm their findings with the Garda before reporting them. Reasons for the scant detail range from an urge to protect families involved to legal restrictions. Identifying ethnicity is a highly unusual move by the Garda, but it's not without precedent, and it is being done on a case-by-case basis. Will rent reform make building apartments viable? Listen | 40:12 In the past year, the force has issued nine misinformation notices via social media or press release. Most were to indicate that, despite some social media commentary, the individuals involved in an alleged crime were Irish citizens and not connected to individuals in the international protection system. The past year, says the Garda, has been marked by 'a significant rise in misinformation and disinformation that has falsely linked serious crimes to immigrants. In some instances, this had directly led to violent public gatherings'. (Misinformation refers to false or incorrect information, disinformation is deliberately designed to mislead.) And following a week of violence, it's something the people of Ballymena know all about. The ongoing pubic disorder in the Co Antrim town – on a scale not seen since the worst years of the Troubles – has been fuelled by online commentary that began last Monday with speculation about an alleged sexual attack in the town. By the end of the week, there had been wave after wave of anti-immigrant rhetoric, including advocating violence against specific ethnic groups. On Monday, two 14-year-old boys appeared in court charged with attempted rape of a teenage girl in the town at the weekend; news media reported that they required a Romanian interpreter. The usual anti-immigrant tropes quickly appeared and were amplified on all social media platforms, about the streets not being safe for women and children and inflating immigration figures. One Facebook group, with more than 5,000 followers, urged people to share addresses of 'locals' they wanted to protect – and of those they wanted to target. Scenes of rioting and burned-out houses – by Friday, 14 migrant families had been forced to leave their homes – were shared and reposted while misinformation about the alleged sexual attack spread. One TikTok post claimed 'a granny and a child had been raped'. The posts came from Irish accounts, including those that are typically most active in the South, protesting about refugee housing and newcomer numbers, but also from British far-right accounts. Events in Ballymena moved fast and quickly went far beyond anything that could be calmed by a carefully worded press statement. After a week of street violence, more than 60 members of the PSNI had been injured, and the force's range of anti-riot equipment had been deployed. On Sunday, a 32-year-old man in the Larne area was arrested by police investigating online posts relating to public disorder. A group of Filipino nationals have been forced to leave their Ballymena home amid ongoing violence in the town. Video: Reuters That real-world consequence of an arrest might prove a deterrent for some, but given the proliferation of anonymous social-media accounts and the sheer volume of posts, it's not a realistic way to stamp it out. And that's where the social-media giants have the real part to play, though in practice, that seems far off too. Asked to comment on the torrent of online misinformation following the Carlow shooting, Taoiseach Micheál Martin defended moves to regulate internet misinformation. Such moves are in train, but the social media owners, who all would claim that they work hard at stamping out misinformation, are not going to easily accept regulation. A legal challenge brought by Elon Musk's social network platform against the online safety code introduced by the Republic's media regulator is under way. X alleges in High Court proceedings that Coimisiún na Meán engaged in 'regulatory overreach' in its approach to restrictions on certain video content. Coimisiún na Meán is contesting the case. The company contends that the new online safety code contradicts Irish law requirements for protecting and balancing fundamental rights, particularly freedom of expression.
