Man quizzed over Warren murder is violent criminal - Herald.ie

A MAN quizzed by gardai over the murder of burglar Christoper Warren is one of the capital's most reckless criminals.

The 27-year-old from the Dolphin's Barn area is thought to have witnessed the attack. He was previously under death threat after robbing crack cocaine from ruthless drug dealers and hapless addicts in his own locality.

A source explained: "That is one very dangerous young fella but he is not thought to have actually shot Christopher Warren."

He is one of two men to have been arrested and questioned about the bizarre shooting on Friday night.

The first man arrested in the aftermath of the shooting of the 35-year-old was a Coolock criminal. He was released without charge on Sunday night.

He was detained after gardai found a Mercedes car, which they believe was used to bring the badly wounded victim to St James's Hospital from the capital's northside.

Warren was left outside the accident and emergency unit, but died shortly afterwards. He was shot with a handgun in the chest area and was also hit in the lower leg.

Gardai believe that the shooting was a punishment attack that went wrong.

Officers think his killers had intended to either assault him or shoot him in the legs but during an apparent scuffle Warren was shot twice at Constitution Hill in the north inner city before being ferried to hospital.

Investigations have established that Warren was involved in a pub assault against a woman in a south Dublin pub on St Stephen's Night.

veteran

The second man arrested, who was released last night, is related to a former Irish soccer international and is also strongly linked to a veteran drug dealer.

Sources say that the man "rarely leaves home without a bullet proof vest on" and is known for "extreme violence".

In one knife attack, he is suspected of stabbing the brother of a murder victim during a bar room brawl.

kfoy@herald.ie

- Ken Foy, Crime correspondent