A man has been shot dead in Dublin in an attack believed to be in retaliation for a shooting in the city late last week.
The victim, a man in his 50s, has been named locally as Eddie Hutch snr, who is the brother of gangster Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch, and he was reportedly shot nine times after gunmen burst into his home. It comes after two hitmen dressed as police officers and armed with assault rifles stormed the city's Regency Hotel and executed suspected gang member David Byrne, 33.
According to the Irish Independent, four men are believed to have been involved in the attack while what appears to be a getaway car, a Volkswagen Golf, was found nearby. It is understood yesterday's killing was gang-related.
Edward Hutch worked as a taxi driver and was linked to money-laundering schemes for his brother.
The first murder was claimed by a group purporting to be the Continuity IRA - a dissident republican splinter faction - made with a code word to the BBC. But that drew scepticism from detectives. The Garda press office said: "Gardai are keeping an open mind in relation to the criminal groups involved as part of their investigations." In a second statement, issued to the Irish Daily Mirror hours later and again purportedly from the Continuity IRA, dissident republicans dismissed the first claim as bogus and said they had no involvement.
