Gardaí send 'number of files' to DPP over violent Longford feud
Nine people arrested over alleged discharge of firearm inside local housing estate
Detectives are awaiting directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to determine what charges, if any, can be brought against a number of suspects who were arrested following the incident inside Ardnacassa housing estate on January 24.
That episode, which investigators believe is linked to a violent inter-family feud, left a man in his 20s in hospital after he was allegedly struck by a van in front of shocked bystanders and young children.
Senior gardaí have pieced together a painstaking series of files which are now with the DPP's office on foot of an investigation they hope will solve one of a number of unruly feuds which have broken out in recent months.
A garda spokesperson confirmed detectives are awaiting the next phase in the inquiry after a "number of files" were sent to the DPP.
It's understood a key part of that probe is on whether the victim of the alleged hit and run may have been targeted after at least one shot was fired from a gun moments before a van allegedly drove at him at high speed.
Alarming footage of the incident during which a number of young children could be heard screaming and running for cover is also believed to form a key part of the garda investigation.
He, alongside a number of close associates, have previously come under the microscope of Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) bosses.
Close members of the man's family are currently before the courts in connection to a brutal assault that took place in front of horrified shoppers inside a busy department store in March.
The store itself was forced to close for a number of hours as a result with gardaí later arresting and charging three people for alleged assault.
Those investigations are among a series of probes gardaí in Longford are continuing to examine following an escalation of violent incidents which have occurred in recent months.