The motorcycle of Garda Paul Sherlock is removed from the scene of the shooting at Ossory Road, North Strand, Dublin, Ireland, yesterday. Garda Sherlock (34) was shot in the stomach by a man in a stolen car. Reports say the motorcycle officer, who was unarmed, spotted two men in a stolen car and gave pursuit. The car stopped and a man stepped out with a shotgun and blasted the Garda in the stomach. The car then sped off to be found later abandoned. The officer, the father or two children, one under one year old, was rushed to hospital where his condition is reported as stable at this time. Ireland authorities are becoming upset by a rise in the number of shootings in that country and yet Garda members assigned to regular patrol remain unarmed.
COURAGEOUS Garda Paul Sherlock was lured into a trap by armed thugs who shot him yesterday because his prompt action prevented them from carrying out an armed robbery.
As President Mary McAleese led tributes to the brave traffic officer last night, the 34-year-old father of two was in a stable condition in hospital after being hit in the left side and arm.
A crime gang from Dublin's north inner city is believed to have been responsible for the shooting.
The attack on the unarmed and uniformed garda prompted calls from some of his rank and file colleagues for a fresh look at arming the force. Deputy general secretary of the Garda Representative Association John Healy said: "My preference would be that uniformed gardai remain unarmed but we can't be sending people out to deal with this type of cowardly, despicable act on a daily basis and give them no protection."
A major hunt for the gunmen was under way last night as garda forensic experts looked for vital clues to their identity from their abandoned silver Nissan Almera car.
The Almera had been stolen from Charleville Avenue in Ballybough on May 22 last and was probably kept in storage since then.
Senior officers appealed to anybody with information about its whereabouts since then to contact them immediately.
Garda Sherlock, from Portmarnock, Co Dublin, is one of three brothers in the force. He is attached to the regional traffic unit based at Dublin Castle, while his brothers are stationed in Store Street. One of his two children was born earlier this year.
He was on routine traffic duties on his motorcycle in the north city as part of Operation Artery, which monitors traffic flow through the capital.
Around 9am a friend of the owner of the Almera spotted the car on North Strand and the gardai were alerted. A description of the car, registration number 02 D 68111, was flashed to all personnel on patrol in the area.
Garda Sherlock was on North Strand when he picked up the message and almost immediately noticed the Almera in the traffic.
He followed the Almera at a safe distance as it was being driven towards the city centre and radioed for back up.
The Almera turned left into Ossory Road and when Garda Sherlock continue to tail it he was spotted by the two men in the car.
The Almera driver waited until he turned around a bend in the road and then pulled into the side. Garda Sherlock slowed down as he saw the car stopping and began to park behind it. A gunman suddenly jumped out of the front passenger seat and fired one blast from a sawn-off shotgun as the officer was still sitting on the motorcycle.
He was struck in the left side and arm while pellets also lodged in the motorcycle.
The gunman ran back to the car which sped away along West Road in the East Wall area.
It was discovered shortly afterwards at St Barnabas Gardens and gardai think the gunmen might have switched to a white van.
Gardai said the gunmen were likely to have been high on cocaine and were planning a robbery in the area, probably from a post office at the junction of North Strand and Ossory Road where the gang believed a cash shipment had been delivered earlier.
They were wearing high visibility builders bibs and one also had what was described as a fisherman's cap.
Garda Sherlock was rushed to the Mater Hospital but his condition stabilised during the morning and he was visited by his wife and mother.
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The motorcycle of Garda Paul Sherlock is removed from the scene of the shooting at Ossory Road, North Strand, Dublin, Ireland, yesterday. Garda Sherlock (34) was shot in the stomach by a man in a stolen car. Reports say the motorcycle officer, who was unarmed, spotted two men in a stolen car and gave pursuit. The car stopped and a man stepped out with a shotgun and blasted the Garda in the stomach. The car then sped off to be found later abandoned. The officer, the father or two children, one under one year old, was rushed to hospital where his condition is reported as stable at this time. Ireland authorities are becoming upset by a rise in the number of shootings in that country and yet Garda members assigned to regular patrol remain unarmed.
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