Man recovering in hospital after pellet gun shooting

Castlebar man recovers in hospital after pellet gun shooting


Anton McNulty and Edwin McGreal

A 21-year-old Castlebar man is recovering in hospital after he was shot twice in the back with a pellet gun in an incident believed to be related to a Traveller family feud.
The shooting occurred in a forecourt of a service station at Moneen, Castlear on Sunday evening at approximately 5.40pm when a car pulled up alongside him and shots were fired several times from a pellet gun. The Mayo News understands that the 21-year-old received two pellets in the back before a black Volkswagen Golf left the forecourt at speed.
The injured man was rushed to Mayo General Hospital by a family member where he was treated for his injuries. He remains in hospital but his injuries are not believed to be life threatening and he is expected to be released from hospital later in the week. A Garda presence was maintained at the hospital through Sunday and was still in place on Monday evening.
A Garda source confirmed to The Mayo News that the incident is believed to be related to a feud between two Traveller families.
The area around the filling station was sealed off as a garda technical investigation of the scene was undertaken. No arrests have been made at the time of going to print and gardaí are seeking witnesses to the event to contact them.
Gardaí are seeking information regarding the identity of a black Volkswagen Golf which was seen leaving the forecourt at speed and driving erratically through the Breaffy area. They are also examining CCTV of the area of the shooting and are still appealing for witnesses.
Anybody with information on the shooting is asked to contact Gardaí in Castlebar on 094 9022222.