Criminal shot in daytime gun attack in retail park

A CONVICTED criminal was in critical condition last night after being shot in a broad daylight attack in a busy shopping area in Drogheda.

Brendan Maguire, 39, was fired at in a drive-by shooting as he sat in a car in the M1 Retail Park in the Co. Louth town shortly before 3pm yesterday. He had just left Gym Plus in the retail park when he was targeted while sitting in a friend’s white Vauxhall Astra.

The victim is the elder brother of Owen Maguire, who is said to be embroiled in a bitter feud with other criminals and was shot last year.

The victim was last night being treated at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. Sources say the retail park was busy with families and young children who witnessed the gun attack.

A black Volkswagen Passat – with the partial registration 132 D – pulled up close to the Astra and a number of shots were fired. Maguire, a frontseat passenger, was hit at least once in the neck. The other two men were uninjured.

A witness to the shooting told the Irish Daily Mail: ‘We looked out and a man was on the ground, shot in the face... It was all over in seconds.’

The driver of the car under attack managed to escape from the scene and travelled to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital with his injured friend.

The black Passat also fled the scene and has not yet been located.

Sources say Maguire is in ‘very serious condition’. He is believed to have been targeted as part of the ongoing feud, which has already seen numerous shooting attempts and arson attacks. There was a heavy presence of armed gardaí at Our Lady of Lourdes last night.