Well-known coach Pete Taylor has given evidence at the trial of a man accused of murdering Robert 'Bobby' Messett in Bray Boxing Club in 2018.
Mr Taylor described being shot in"mid-air" as he dived over a gym-bench and attempted to lunge at a gunman who had opened fire at the gym five years ago.
At the Central Criminal Court today, Mr Taylor told prosecuting barrister Paul Murray SC that he was at the gym on the morning of 5 June, 2018, to run an exercise class from 6.45am to 7.45am. "Everything happened so quickly. I was looking around for something to throw at him but couldn't find anything. I thought it was my responsibility to run at him," he said. Mr Taylor told Mr Murray that he did not see what happened to Mr Messet while the bullets were still"going around the room".
Mr Taylor described the gunman as being"around 5' 8" and firing at chest-height."I remember a hi-vis vest and everything else was black," said Mr Taylor when describing the shooter.Mr Taylor said he was in"mid-air" going over the bench in the process of lunging towards the gunman when he was shot.Mr Taylor confirmed to Mr Murray that the bullet went into his left bicep area and then into the left side of the chest and then out through the middle of his chest.
In cross-examination Mr Taylor told defence counsel, Hugh Hartnett SC, that he tried to assess the situation in order to"protect others" before he ran at the gunman. Mr Hartnett asked if Mr Taylor was"anxious" about the return of clothing, his runners and the sum of money. "There were at least five or six bangs, maybe more. I ran into the office after the first bang. There was a window bay and I was behind the curtain and heard more bangs.The witness said that after the bangs stopped, he knelt down beside Mr Messett and believed"on first contact that he had gone".
"We were trying to make her lip-read to call the guards but she didn't grasp what we were saying. Then I saw two members walk out of the door and I presumed it was over. One of the members, Linda Gill, came into the ladies screaming that Bobby was dead," said Mr Hackett. The witness said he thought the person at the door to be of slight build and a young person around 5'9" tall.
Mr Britton said people outside the club after the shooting were"in shock". He said he thought the shooter to be around 5'9" or 5'10" with a build that was"not very tall or very big". At the opening of the trial, Mr Murray told the jury that a gunman went into Bray Boxing Club at 6.50am on 5 June, 2018 and went to the door of an exercise class where Mr Taylor was teaching.
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