Crude ‘slam bang’ shotguns are very effective, Det Insp Danny Colohan tells court
He told how Sgt Teahan and his team of six officers were wearing full tactical gear designed for high-risk operations and this gear included ballistic vests as well as lighter vests which clearly identified them as gardaí with markings on the front and back as they approached the house.
He told how Garda Kelly spotted Peter Keenan in the kitchen holding an improvised shotgun with the barrel in his left hand and the butt in his right hand and Garda Kelly engaged with him verbally, telling him to drop the weapon as Garda Hennebry turned towards the sitting room off the hall. Garda O’Brien breached the sitting room door and Garda Hennebry entered the room to hear Mr Keenan shouting repeatedly ‘I’m sorry’ as he tried to conceal something in a vent in the wall before Garda Kelly forced him to the ground where he was handcuffed by Sgt Teahan and removed.
Det Insp Coholan said the two improvised firearms seized by gardaí were capable of firing regular 12 gauge shotgun cartridges and they were simple to use and could not go off accidentally as the person holding them had to slam a bar into the barrel to detonate the cartridge. He said that when James Keenan was interviewed by gardaí he told them that he and his family were in a feud with the McDonagh family and he thought it was McDonaghs who were coming and, fearing for his family’s safety, he fired the shotgun with the aim of scaring off the intruders.
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