Murder probe after body of Somalian man found in flat

GARDAÍ have launched a murder inquiry after a Somalian national was found dead in a flat.

The body of Abdi Rasheed Kaaheen Shire, 48, was found in an apartment on Wellington Street in Waterford city on Tuesday morning.

Initially, gardaí were treating his death as suspicious, but they later upgraded their investigation to a murder inquiry after a post-mortem examination was carried out.

The post-mortem, conducted at University Hospital Waterford, concluded that the man had been assaulted.

Officers have appealed to members of the Somali community for information which could help them in their inquiry. It’s understood the dead man had been living in the Waterford city area for some time – but gardaí have not confirmed if he was staying in the apartment where his body was found, in the Wellington Square block close to Ballybricken.

Gardaí have not released the details of the post-mortem ‘for operational reasons’. It’s understood that the victim was a single man and did not have any immediate family in Waterford. He worked parttime locally. He was identified with the help of some friends and others who knew him in the area.

Anyone with information that could assist gardaí is asked to contact the gardaí at Waterford on 051-305300 or any Garda station.