Gardai are pursuing a man who threatened an ambulance crew with a gun metres from a busy hospital, reports The Mirror.
Two paramedics – a man and a woman – were hit after a masked man pointed a revolver at them as they stopped at a traffic light.
There were no casualties in the ambulance, which was just meters from Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, Co Louth, when it was attacked.
A source told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “They were on their way back to the hospital between calls, thankfully there were no casualties on board at the time. They stopped at the lights and next thing a man with a hood covering his face stepped out in front of them and pulled a gun on them. They really thought ‘this is it, we are going to be shot’. They are both severely traumatised by this,” reports The Mirror.
“The ambulance crews in Drogheda have had to respond to a lot of violent incidents over the past two years with the ongoing feud. But they feel very aggrieved at being singled out and targeted like this when they are trying to do their job, which is all about saving lives. This man didn’t demand drugs or anything. He just pulled out a revolver, pointed it at them through the windscreen, then walked off calm as you like,” the source added, reports The Mirror.
Paramedics affiliated with the Northeast region of the National Ambulance Service returned to work after the incident at 10:30 p.m.
Gardaí have confirmed they are investigating reports of an incident “which occurred at Cross Lane, Drogheda on Thursday 27 July. No further information is available,” reports The Mirror.
The incident has sparked fears that the conflict in Drogheda, which led to the murder and dismemberment of teenager Keane Mulready-Woods, could be renewed.
Retired Superintendent Christy Mangan described the dispute as “one of the most difficult times in the history of the State”, reports The Mirror.
The murder of the 17-year-old was the third of four that began in 2018, when the gang split in two and the drug war began.
This led to 100 incidents, including shootings in broad daylight, attempted bombings, firebombs and stabbings that caught innocent victims in the crossfire.
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