Death and injury at Dublin boxing weigh-in

The scene outside the Regency Hotel in Dublin after today’s shooting. RollingNews.ie photo.

By Irish Echo Staff

One man was shot dead and two wounded as gunfire erupted at a boxing weigh-in at a Dublin hotel earlier today.

Pandemonium broke out in the Regency Hotel on the city’s north side when gunmen, reportedly dressed in Garda uniforms, opened fire with what witnesses said were AK47 semi-automatic rifles.
According to an RTE report, the shooting took place at 2.30 p.m. local time at the Regency Hotel on the Swords Road during a weigh-in for tomorrow's WBO European Lightweight title fight between Jamie Kavanagh and Portugal’s Antonio Jao Bento.

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One early line of inquiry being pursued by Gardai is that the shooting could be connected to the murder of Dublin gangland figure Gary Hutch, who was shot dead in Spain last September.

RTE reported that it was believed that Hutch was murdered by a drugs cartel led by an Irishman based in Spain and that today's shooting could be in retaliation for that killing.

The two other men injured in the shooting were taken to the Mater and Beaumont hospitals. It was understood the three men who were hit were all aged in their 20s and/or 30s.

Boxers at the event were weighing-in ahead of Saturday’s "Clash of the Clans" bout at Dublin’s National Stadium.

The weigh-in was attended by family members and young children were among those who had to take cover when, according to an Irish Independent report, two men burst into the hotel lobby “firing shots at will.”

A third gunman remained outside and reportedly fired a warning shot at pedestrians.
The gunmen wore what appeared to be Garda Emergency Response Unit uniforms and had their faces covered. But they were overheard speaking with “strong Dublin accents.”

One eyewitness described the scene as "absolute pandemonium."

The promoters of tomorrow’s boxing event, according to reports, are a company called MGM based in Puerto Banus, Spain.

 

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