Armed gardaí are patrolling the streets of Drogheda tonight following an escalation of a gang feud in the town. There was three separate petrol bomb attacks in Co Louth overnight, which gardaí believe are connected to the ongoing criminal feud. In the first incident, the front window and living room of a house in St Laurence's Park were damaged when a petrol bomb was thrown at the house at around 12.15am. A suspect device was also thrown through the window of a house at Scarlet Crescent in Drogheda shortly after 1am. We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences The third incident occurred at 4am at a house at Loughboy in Mell. Extensive damage was caused to the property and a car, as well as damage to an adjoining property. There were no injuries in any of the attacks, which came 24 hours after two separate petrol bomb attacks at Ashleigh Heights and Springfield Court in the town. No one was injured in either incident. On Thursday, a man was shot a number of times in an attack at Hardman's Gardens, which is also being linked to the feud. Read More: Fear on the streets of Drogheda Appeal for witnesses after man injured in Louth shooting Petrol bombs thrown at two houses in Drogheda<doc-sep>THIS IS the shocking moment an innocent victim is shot in a terrifying drive-by shooting. The 36-year-old was shot in the leg and arm outside a house in Hardman’s Gardens on Thursday afternoon. 3 The gunman's car pulls up outside the property 3 The gunman fires freely at his defenceless victims 3 One of the men is hit before diving for cover Our exclusive video, captured on CCTV at the property, shows a number of men loading rubbish into a skip. A red Volkswagen Golf can be seen stopping on the road outside and a man gets out off the car. He fires a number of shots at the men, hitting one of them as he dives for cover. The car drives off at that speed. The daylight gun attack happened in front of a number of shocked onlookers. It’s understood that eight shots were fired in the daring assault. The Volkswagen was found burnt out on Rathmullen Road a short time later. It’s understood the innocent victim knows the intended target of the attack, who is an associate of gangster Cornelius Price. Gardai were on the scene within minutes and swarmed the area, sealing off the house. A major manhunt was launched for the shooter but by last night no arrests had been made. The injured man was taken to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, where he remained overnight. A Garda spokeswoman added: “Gardai attended the scene of a shooting incident that occurred at approximately 4.30pm.” MOST READ IN NEWS PUP update Pandemic Unemployment Payment and Wage Subsidy to begin phase out from October TONE DEAF Live music ban at pubs, restaurants and hotels sparks fury ahead of reopening urgent appeal Gardai appeal to find four children missing from Dublin for almost 3 weeks LAST ORDERS 'No alternative' but to refuse to grant Berlin D2 bar licences renewal troll hell Andrew McGinley says trolls pretended to know family & 'facts' of how kids died Down Time Dublin salon praised for introducing silent appointments after Covid reopening A property was raided within an hour of the attack in the Rathmullen area of the town. The target of the attack is part of a gang feuding with associates of the Kinahan cartel. There has been a spate of fire bombings, gun attacks and arson attacks across Louth as part of the dispute.<doc-sep>Graffiti at the entrance to the Moneymore estate. Graffiti at the entrance to the Moneymore estate. A CONVICTED CRIMINAL gardaí believe is heavily involved in the ongoing Drogheda violence is set for release from prison next week just days after the latest gun attack linked to the ongoing feud. Additional armed patrols and uniformed units have been drafted in to the district to cover what officers expect to be a serious escalation in tensions between the feuding sides. A man was shot in the Louth town earlier this week in what officers believe was part of the ongoing feud. In the last 24 hours, two houses were attacked with petrol bombs. Gardaí have been carrying out a number of search operations in the town and on its outskirts in the last two weeks as they prepare for the release of a “serious player” from prison. The man is suspected of directing one side of the Drogheda feud from prison. This week’s shooting took place in the Hardmans Gardens area of Drogheda shortly after 4pm on Wednesday. When officers arrived at the scene they discovered a 36-year-old man who had been shot a number of times in the leg and shoulder. The attackers used a red Volkswagen Golf bearing false registration plates during the incident. The car was found burnt out in the Sheephouse area on the Rathmullen Road, Drogheda. It is believed that two men ran from this car when it was abandoned. Describing the “indiscriminate attack” as “callous and reckless” Superintendent Andrew Watters of Drogheda Garda Station said the broad daylight shooting endangered members of the public and children. The ongoing feud has seen a number of serious injuries as a result. On 5 July last year, Owen Maguire was shot a number of times at his home on Cement Road in Drogheda. He somehow survived being shot at least four times at close range with a handgun. Since this shooting, the two gangs have been exchanging tit-for-tat attacks – mainly in the form of firing shots at people’s homes. Violence erupted again in November between the two gangs – one predominantly comprising members of the Traveller community, the other settled men. #Open journalism No news is bad news Support The Journal Your contributions will help us continue to deliver the stories that are important to you Support us now At 11.15pm on 8 November – Thursday of last week – a petrol bomb was thrown at a house in the Termon Abbey area. There were no injuries but there was some minor damage to the property. At 11.29pm that same night, gardaí received reports that a man had entered a halting site in the Cement Road area allegedly carrying a firearm. Officers attended the scene, but nothing was found. Since then there have been a number of serious assaults related to the drugs feud. Gardaí believe that the release of the man from prison next week is only going to heighten tensions in the area. Large scale searches are continuing in both gangs’ strongholds as officers attempt to remove as many weapons from each side before the man’s release. Contact me in confidence by downloading the Threema app. My ID is 3UTJ6TTE. See more details here.<doc-sep>At 4.20pm on Thursday a gunman opened fire on a busy street. He stood on the centre line of the road and fired eight shots indiscriminately. As passersby watched on in complete disbelief, a 35-year-old man fell to the ground. It's unclear if he was the intended target, but he was an associate of a gang member and that was good enough for the attacker. He was shot twice, in the shoulder and leg, but survived. Other innocent passersby, including young children and motorists, narrowly escaped injury. This wasn't downtown Detroit, it was Drogheda. The shooting at Hardman's Gardens this week was just the latest attack in a worsening feud. Gun attacks in busy residential and retail areas in broad daylight have become a feature of the bitter dispute which centres on two gangs vying for the lucrative drugs trade in the town. Last July, one gang member was shot at least four times at his home in Drogheda - sustaining wounds to his stomach and shoulder as well as injuries to both legs and wrists. He was paralysed in the attack and discharged from hospital just last week. Two homes targeted in petrol bomb attacks in Drogheda Since that shooting nine months ago, the dispute has escalated as the two gangs engage in tit-for-tat attacks. Shootings, pipe bomb and petrol bomb attacks have now, unfortunately, become common place in certain parts of Drogheda. Last November it reached boiling point with a spate of incidents in one week, including the kidnapping of a man with links to one of the gangs. He was stripped and stabbed over half a dozen times in the face, neck and chest. Gardaí saved his life when they raided the house and discovered him naked in the bath. In February, a 39-year-old man was targeted in a shooting at the M1 Retail Park. He was shot several times as he sat in his car, but survived. Again the attack in broad daylight was witnessed by families with young children. Earlier this month, four men were arrested in relation to that attack. It's believed they were on their way to carry out another shooting. This week alone there have been two petrol bomb attacks on houses in St Laurence's Park and Moneymore, one of the main hot spots of the feud. No one was injured but through relentless intimidation, gangs are making it clear they are intent on causing damage and serious harm. There's no shortage of people in the town who will talk about their concerns but there's few who want to be identified, worried about the implications of speaking out. As I stood at Hardman's Gardens on Thursday evening people there told me they are living in fear. "It's just crazy, it's lawless, anyone could be shot, when it’s done so openly, you have to wonder. You hope the guards get more control of things", one man said. Another man, who has been living in the area for over 30 years, said he couldn't believe the brazen nature of Thursday’s attack. "It's worrying that they don't see anything wrong with letting off five or six rounds when there's a lot of people around, it doesn't seem to bother them. They don't seem to have any worries about being caught", he said. For the last number of months the airwaves of local radio station LMFM have been dominated by the situation in Drogheda. News bulletins and the Michael Reade Current Affairs show have been filled with the latest development in this deadly dispute. News Editor Michael Carolan says the impact the feud is having on the town in unprecedented. "Over the last six months there have been multiple petrol bomb attacks, shootings and a kidnapping. "Communities in certain areas of the town have been effectively under siege. In one particular incident, a car was driven through the front of a shop and set on fire", he said. "The Army Bomb Disposal Team have been called to examine several suspicious devices - many, if not all, were viable. Roads and estates have had to be sealed off for long periods of time as these security alerts were dealt with. The impact that this ongoing feud has had on the town is unprecedented", he added. Politicians on all sides have condemned the attacks and appealed for more garda resources. Fianna Fáil TD for Louth Declan Breathnach said the shooting this week demonstrated the "level of depravity the thugs who carry out these acts will sink to". Labour Party Senator Ged Nash, who grew up not far from Hardman's Gardens, said people are scared. "I've never experienced the level of fear that is currently being felt by the people on the streets of Drogheda, I've lived my whole life [here] and it's terrible to see my hometown impacted like this," he said. In November, when the feud boiled over all garda leave was cancelled in the Louth division and stringent controls on overtime were eased. Operation Stratus saw high visibility patrols around Moneymore and Cement road. The Emergency Response Unit and other undercover armed gardaí were stationed around the town. Again this week there have been calls for more resources to tackle the escalating violence. Senator Nash believes gardaí need to take the same approach they took in Limerick, a city once gripped by a similar feud. "What we need is permanent policing resources in this town. What we need is a very serious and heavy handed crackdown on this activity that's going on at the moment", Senator Nash said. In the next few weeks one of the leading criminal figures in one of the feuding gangs is due for release from prison and gardaí are bracing themselves for a surge in violence. The people of Drogheda are preparing to host Fleadh Cheoilna hÉireann for the second time later this summer and are understandably worried. Gardaí continue to put a policing plan in place to contain the violence but outside a shop on West Street yesterday, one man who did not want to be identified summed up the feelings of a community. "I think they're going to ruin our town", he said.<doc-sep>
An investigation has been launched after three more petrol bomb attacks took place last night in Drogheda. The incidents follow petrol bombs thrown at two houses on Friday night and are strongly believed to be related to an ongoing feud between criminal gangs in the Co Louth town. The first of last night’s three attacks occurred at around 12:15am on Sunday morning at St Laurence’s Park and saw the front window and the living room of a house damaged by one of the petrol bombs. Again, just before 1am, another of what Gardaí are describing as a “suspect device” was thrown through the window of a home at Scarlett Crescent. Nobody was injured in any of the attacks, but a third incident occurred at around 4am at Loughboy, Mell and saw the local fire brigade needed at the scene to deal with damage, which was caused to the targeted property as well as a car parked outside and adjoining house. All five of the attacks follow an incident on Thursday at Hardman's Gardens which saw a man shot a number of times in what is also suspected to be part of the ongoing feud. Speaking about that event, Fianna Fáil TD for Louth, Declan Breathnach, said that the incident showed the depravity of those involved in the feud. “The shooting of a man in broad daylight, in the vicinity of schools, a church and shops is deplorable,” he said. “Any number of innocent people could have been caught up in the attack. It is the ordinary citizens who are suffering at the hands of a minority. “This is the third feud related incident in a week and these thugs are terrorising communities with arson, knife and gun attacks. This feud has been ongoing for over a year now and along with a greater Garda presence I believe there should be harsher penalties for those convicted. Online Editors