Gangsters open fire with AK47s at Dublin boxing weigh-in, killing one man

 

These are the shocking scenes as a family flees a hotel as a gangland assassin shoots dead a suspected drug dealer during the weigh-in for a boxing bout. 

The family were in the Regency Hotel in Dublin to witness the weigh-in of Jamie Kavanagh who was due to fight for a European title tomorrow, when gunmen dressed as police burst into the room and opened fire. 

One man was shot dead and two others were injured following the shooting in Dublin earlier today. 

Amid chaotic scenes, one of the boxers on stage runs for his life as the gunmen open fire.

Seconds after the shooting begins, a small child can be heard crying out: 'Daddy help me. Daddy what was that?' 

Witness Mel Christle, president of the Boxing Union of Ireland, was standing on a podium where the last of the boxers weighing in had just stood down when he heard gunfire erupting outside the room.

He said: 'There was a horrific cracking noise, in front of me, out of the banquet room - it was a place called the Regency Suite.

 

'There was an incredible noise out there, and that is where I saw a body, a corpse, lying literally at the edge of the reception desk.

'So I'm sure he (the victim) was trapped - he was riddled.'

Mr Christle said one of the gunmen was dressed up as a woman and aged in his early 20s.

The boxing chief was adamant the attackers were not targeting the boxers gathered for the weigh-in, but other individuals who were hit in the hotel reception.

He said there was panic as some people dived for cover when they realised what was happening.

'I actually saw the sheer fear that will live with them for a long, long time,' he said of those who witnessed the shooting.

'It actually touched me, how afraid - I'm sure adults were afraid, but my God, the children couldn't believe what was going on.'

Kavanagh's father was Gerard 'Hatchet' Kavanagh, who was lured to his death in Spain in September 2014. He was an enforcer for Christy Kinahan, who is suspected of being one of Europe's largest cocaine importers. 

It is understood several members of a criminal gang linked to Dublin criminal 'Fat' Freddie Thompson were in the hotel watching the weigh-in when the gunmen opened fire. 

The dead man is understood to be a relative of Thompson, who has been warned by Irish police that his life is in danger. 

There were approximately 200-300 people at the weigh-in when the shooting started.  

The murder is also being linked to the slaying of Gary Hutch, whose uncle Gerard 'The Monk' Hutch is a retired member of Dublin's criminal fraternity. Hutch was murdered in Spain last September. 

The dead man is a runner for the Kinahan gang and aligned to Thompson. They have been involved in a vicious feud with a rival gang based on Dublin's northside. 

Police said all three victims were in their 20s or 30s. One was pronounced dead at the scene.   

The two other victims have been rushed to The Mater and Beaumont hospitals with what are suspected to be gunshot wounds.  

Boxers were weighing-in ahead of Saturday's 'Clash of the Clans' bout at the city's National Stadium.   

Two detectives attending the scene said it was too early to specify any motive, but cited the deadly feuding between gangland factions as one possibility. 

A headliner in Saturday's boxing bouts was Jamie Kavanagh, whose father - a convicted drug dealer - was shot to death in Spain in 2014.

The younger Kavanagh was due to fight Joao Bento for the vacant WBO European lightweight title. 

The fight's promoters have announced that tomorrow's bout has been cancelled as a result of today's murder.

Today's murder has already been linked to a string of gangland slayings linked to Dublin's drug trade.  

Culled from Dailymail