DRUGS LINK TO CHURCH SHOOTINGS

GARDAI confirmed last night that they believe the shooting of a former Sinn
Fein election candidate and his son during a first holy communion service in
north Dublin was drugs-related.

Larry O'Toole, who is a prominent anti-drugs activist in the Ballymun area,
and his son, also named Larry, were being treated for their injuries at the
Mater hospital last night. They were said to be in a stable condition.

The attacker, believed to be a local drug dealer, was said to have suffered
a fractured skull after being set upon by a crowd following the shooting. He
is being treated in Beaumont hospital.

O'Toole's son was shot as he chased the gunman out of the church. O'Toole
was shot in the back and his son wounded in the chest. They are not thought
to be seriously injured.

The gunman, who was in his early thirties, and believed to be originally
from Belfast, walked into St Joseph's Church where hundreds of people were
gathered and singled out O'Toole. He shouted "You're dead" before opening
fire.

He then fired two shots in the air before running out of the church chased
by O'Toole's son and other members of the congregation. The gunman shot
O'Toole's son before fleeing into the nearby Cromleach Court housing
development where he was set upon by his pursuers.

Gardai were at the scene within minutes. Two community officers from
Ballymun garda station, Garda Joe Everard and Garda Jack Kildea, were in the
vicinity of the church and arrested the gunman. He was taken to Santry G
garda station and later taken to Beaumont hospital, where he was treated for
head injuries.

About 70 children, aged seven and eight, were in the church for their first
communion. Among them was O'Toole's granddaughter, Laura. There was panic
when the shooting started, said Father Noel Kerins.

Local curate Father Kevin McDonagh, who rushed to the scene, said: "Everyone
was shocked. Children were screaming and crying."

He said that the gunman had "acted with great haste, speed and was very
focused".

Chief Superintendent Jim Murphy said the shooting seemed to be drug-related.
"At the moment we do not believe that it was anything more sinister," he
said.

Gerry Adams, the president of Sinn Fein, said the shooting of O'Toole, was a
very worrying development. He described O'Toole as a community activist and
prominent member of the Darndale anti-drugs movement. His son lives in the
Balcurris area and, according to locals, had a altercation with the gunman
last week.

O'Toole stood for Sinn Fein in Dublin in the European elections of 1994 and
was a dail candidate in the last general election. He first came to
prominence as a trade union official when he successfuly challenged, in the
Supreme Court, RTE's refusal to interview him about a strike at the Gateau
factory in 1990. Members of Sinn Fein were then banned from the airwaves.

Gardai believe Sinn Fein and the IRA are behind many anti-drug vigilante
groups who hound dealers from their homes.

The tactics are often electorally popular for Sinn Fein candidates, such as
O'Toole, in working-class areas devastated by heroin addiction.

Checked-by: "Rolf Ernst"