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| Detective shot dead during raid in Ireland | Detective shot dead during raid in Ireland |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A detective has died after he was shot during a botched hold-up outside the town of Dundalk in the Republic of Ireland. | A detective has died after he was shot during a botched hold-up outside the town of Dundalk in the Republic of Ireland. |
| The Garda officer, who was in his 40s, was among colleagues who were escorting a cash delivery to a credit union in the County Louth town, which is close to the border with Northern Ireland. | The Garda officer, who was in his 40s, was among colleagues who were escorting a cash delivery to a credit union in the County Louth town, which is close to the border with Northern Ireland. |
| Several shots were fired during the incident at the Lordship Credit Union in the Jenkinstown area at about 9.30pm on Friday. | |
| The officer, who was based at Dundalk Garda station, was fatally injured in the shooting. Garda sources said that after shooting the detective the raiders seized the money stolen from the credit union and drove off. Four men who are believed to have fled the scene in a grey Volkswagen Passat are being sought by the force. | |
| Sinn Fein president and Co Louth TD Gerry Adams said he was deeply shocked by the detective's murder. "I extend my deepest sympathies to his family and colleagues, and appeal to those with information about this crime to co-operate with the Gardai," he said. | |
| The Police Federation of Northern Ireland expressed solidarity with their colleagues in the Garda Siochana over the murder of the officer. | |
| The organisation representing police officers north of the border said: "Our thoughts and support go out tonight to our colleagues south of the border in An Garda Síochána. An attack on them is an attack on us." | |
| Jim Loughran, a Sinn Fein councillor in the part of County Louth where the shooting took place, described him as a quite, decent family man. "I just spoke to him last week on the street in town. I can't believe this has happened," added Loughran, who condemned those responsible for the shooting, saying they had devastated a small tight-knit community. | |
| "This was not just an attack on a Garda detective, it was an attack on the whole community," he said. | "This was not just an attack on a Garda detective, it was an attack on the whole community," he said. |
| The detective is understood to have been married with three children and lived just over a half a mile from the credit union where he was killed. | The detective is understood to have been married with three children and lived just over a half a mile from the credit union where he was killed. |
| He was also a member of a local GAA club, St Patrick's, where he was involved with training young players. | He was also a member of a local GAA club, St Patrick's, where he was involved with training young players. |
| Official statistics have shown that crime, apart from burglary, has been falling since the republic's economic downturn started in 2007-2008 although gun crime among gangs, particularly in Dublin, has continued to make headlines. | |
| The death of the Garda officer comes 17 years since the death of detective who was shot by members of the Provisional IRA while he was taking part in an escort for a cash delivery to a post office in County Limerick. |