Gardaí issue appeal after children allegedly shot by man armed with a pellet gun in Portlaoise
One of the boys was shot in the face during the terrifying ordeal
An investigation is underway after two young boys were allegedly shot by a man armed with a pellet gun in an estate in Portlaoise.
One of the boys was allegedly shot in the face and back while the other boy was shot in the leg during the terrifying incident at The Springs, Kilminchy, Portlaoise on Wednesday night.
Alan O’Reilly said his son Thomas was shot in the back as well as the chin. He said had the pellet which was fired from a BB gun struck “three or four inches higher, it was in his eye”. He said the pellets left marks on the boy’s skin which were still visible two days later.
Mr O’Reilly said his 10 year-old son was playing with his friend David, who is the same age, when the terrifying incident occurred. He said nothing like this had occurred in the estate before.
Wojciech Piotrowski confirmed the second child was his son David. His son was allegedly “smacked in the back” and shot in the leg with a pellet during the terrifying incident.
The boys told their parents that they had been playing on their bikes in the estate when a man in a van took out a hurley which he banged on the side of his vehicle. They said this man, who Mr O’Reilly estimated was in his 30s, then smacked David in the back before retrieving a realistic looking gun from the van and proceeding to shoot at the boys with pellets, hitting David in the leg and Thomas in the chin and and back.
Mr O’Reilly was shocked when he learned about the incident. He said Thomas came home and told him, “a man is after shooting me in the chin and the back with a BB gun.”
“It is not something you expect to see…not an adult attacking children,” Mr O’Reilly remarked.
He rushed out to confront the man. “I was fearing for other kid’s safety,” he explained. He said “somebody in their right mind wouldn’t do that to a child”. Mr O’Reily said his son was “very traumatised" following the incident.
A senior Garda confirmed they are investigating the incident and are following a definite line of enquiry. They are appealing for CCTV, dashcam footage and information from witnesses or anyone who was in the area at the time.
It’s understood Gardaí identified and spoke with a suspect not long after the incident. They also recovered a BB pistol which fires plastic projectiles and it has since been sent for analysis.
Anyone with information in relation to the incident can contact Portlaoise Garda Station on 057 867 4100.