Carlow shooter named as local man, 22, who was facing firearms charges
The man who opened fire in a Carlow shopping centre before taking his own life has been identified.
Detectives are now satisfied the gunman behind the horror incident on Sunday evening was Carlow man Evan Fitzgerald. Mr Fitzgerald, 22, was due to make a court appearance on 13 firearms and explosive charges later this week.
He was due to have the book of evidence in the case presented to him at Naas District Court on Wednesday – which meant he was to stand trial in front of a judge and jury later this year. He was charged under anti firearms and explosives legislation and was facing up to 14 years behind bars if he was convicted. But the case against him cannot now proceed.
Mr Fitzgerald was 22 and had an address at Portrushen Upper, Kiltegan, Rathvilly, Co Carlow, close to the border with Wicklow. It is about 27 kilometres from the Fairgreen Shopping Centre in Carlow Town, where he caused panic on Sunday evening.
(Image: An Garda Siochana)
We have confirmed that Mr Fitzgerald was on bail on serious firearms and explosives charges when he went to Fairgreen and opened fire. Sources tell us gardai now believe he did not intend to target anyone else in the incident – which officers now think was a gruesome public suicide.
"He did not shoot at anyone else and we believe he did not want to. The shots he fired were not aimed at anyone," a source told us.
The steel worker – who a court previously heard had a fascination with guns – was charged over an incident at Staffan in Co Kildare last year. Detectives from the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau charged Mr Fitzgerald over the incident in which officers seized a German-made Heckler and Koch G3 assault rifle and an America Colt M1911 semi automatic pistol.
A court heard the guns were seized following an intelligence-led operation into alleged firearms trafficking. Gardaí, including from DOCB and The Emergency Response Unit, conducted a controlled stop on a vehicle and seized the firearms and ammunition, the court heard.
(Image: An Garda Siochana)
Mr Fitzgerald, who was on bail, last appeared in court on May 7 and was remanded to this coming Wednesday. He was facing 13 charges. Two were for allegedly possessing the firearms at Ponsonby Bridge, Straffan Road, Co. Kildare on March 2 last year.
He also faced two separate charges of possessing 22 rounds of .45 ACP calibre ammunition and 20 rounds of .308 Winchester ammunition on the same date and location. Mr Fitzgerald was also facing a further nine charges, all also allegedly committed on March 2 last year – but this time it is alleged they were committed at Portrushen Upper, Kiltegan, Rathvilly, Co Carlow,
Mr Fitzgerald was alleged to have possessed:
23 rounds of Ammunition Suitable for use in Appropriately Chambered Rifles
Sixty nine shotgun cartridges
Four rounds for pistol and revolvers
One round of .450" Calibre Bullet suitable for use in Large Bore Centrefire Rifles
One magazine suitable for use in 7.62x39mm Calibre AK-47 rifles
One magazine suitable for use in Tokarev Calibre TT-33 Pistols
One Magazine suitable for use in Makarov Calibre PM Pistols
The explosive substance of Potassium Nitrate, Sulphur and Charcoal (Black Powder) explosive mixture
The explosive substance of Ammonium Perchlorate, Potassium Perchlorate, Sulphur and Magnalium.
He had not yet entered any plea in the case and no evidence was heard at the May 7 appearance.
Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Satellite pic from days after Maddie vanished shows eerie ‘tent' in Brueckner's camping spot now being searched by cops
MADELEINE McCann prime suspect Christian Brueckner stayed in a 'wild camping' ground on land now being scoured by cops, The Sun can reveal. Search teams have Advertisement 16 A recent satellite picture of the farmhouse 16 A satellite image of the farmhouse in 2007, seemingly with a tent inside 16 Police searching the abandoned building on Tuesday Credit: Dan Charity 16 Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Beurckner pictured arriving in to court in 2024 Credit: Dan Charity 16 Madeleine McCann disappeared in Praia da Luz, Portugal on May 3, 2007 Credit: AFP 16 And German police leading the hunt hope Searchers were yesterday focusing on at least Sun analysis of a June 2007 satellite image of one building being The stone-walled property was photographed from space on June 22, 2007 - seven weeks after Maddie was Advertisement read more on maddie Recent pictures of the same spot show the building's massive deterioration - and lay bare the enormous task facing police seeking The 2007 images shows the roofless cottage or barn is approximately 58ft long by 25ft wide with a white, 9ft tent like structure pitched inside its walls. It is impossible to say whether the building was occupied by Brueckner or one of a number of hippie types living in the area in camper vans and tents at the time. But fading hopes of finding evidence linking him to the three-year-old British tot were also being hampered by the Advertisement Most read in The Sun Chain saws and diggers were drafted in to excavate ground and clear thick undergrowth which has overwhelmed many of the abandoned buildings. And luxury holiday homes have been built on other key spots within a ten acre area being combed by scores of Portuguese and German cops. 16 The abandoned house was scoured in the first day of the Maddie search Credit: Dan Charity 16 The barn was filled with overgrown shrubbery Advertisement 16 A mugshot of Christian Brueckner Teams spent yesterday toiling in 29C heat at the seaside search plot in an area called Atalaia, a mile east of the Ocean Club and half a mile from Brueckner's old house. Ground penetrating Locals said the spot close to a cliff was once a romantic spot where Portuguese couples would canoodle after dark in their cars. Advertisement But by the early noughties the open scrubland offering sea views and no parking charges attracted a foreign 'wild camper' set - Police are believed to have launched their 'last throw of the dice' search after tip-offs from associates about the area and geolocation checks of his computer hardware. Local man Joao Pedro , 63, who grew up in the area, told The Sun: 'It used to be a romantic spot - I used to take my girlfriends there. 'But at the time Maddie went missing in the noughties it was very popular with foreign campers and you'd see camper vans and tents there all time. Advertisement 'It was totally unregulated back then and strangers would just pitch up and stay there for free and no one would bother them.' 16 Police will be searching scrub land, using radar equipment 16 A firefighter draining a well with a yellow hose pipe 16 One of the derelict and abandoned properties close to Praia De Luz, Portugal, which has been searched by teams investigating on Wednesday Advertisement 16 Kate (R) and Gerry McCann hold pyjamas similar to those of their daughter during a press conference in 2007 Credit: Getty A police source at the scene told The Sun yesterday that searches were focusing on the area because Brueckner used to camp in the buildings. One officer said: 'We are here because Brueckner used to camp here. Not only Brueckner but many people.' The Sun also examined historic satellite imagery showing Brueckner's single story house around half a mile from the current search site at the time of the abduction. Advertisement Images recorded in 2006 and 2007 show vehicles resembling his distinctive VW camper van nearby. He moved out of the white and yellow bungalow in late 2006 but a white roofed van still appears to be parked outside it in June 2007 after Maddie was snatched. A white structure erected close to his house in 2006 when he lived there also appears to have vanished the following year. Imagery also shows scores of open wells across the entire search area which were being drained and methodically checked for clues yesterday. Advertisement Wider satellite pictures taken in 2007 show a string of building plots around the current search area - which have since become luxury homes and holiday estates. The worst fear of officers is that Brueckner could have hidden Maddie's body or vital clues in the foundations of buildings which would now be impossible to excavate. Hopes that telltale fragments of clothing - like the missing tot's pink Eeyore pyjamas - might be found are also remote. German federal officers are racing against time to find vital DNA clues after the 48-year-old fiend Brueckner boasted he would 'go to ground' when he is released in September. Advertisement The vile pervert - who cops are convinced took and killed Maddie - is currently due to finish a seven year sentence for raping a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005. A Portuguese police source said last night: 'This really is a last ditch effort - search teams here are hoping they get lucky. 'Officers are determined to do everything they possibly can before Brueckner walks free. They know what is at stake.' 16 A criminal police investigator walks near ruins as police resume the search for the body of Madeleine McCann today Advertisement 16 One of the derelict and abandoned properties close to Praia da Luz 16 One abandoned house was scoured earlier on Wednesday TIMELINE OF EVENTS Here's a timeline of the case which has gripped the world. May 3, 2007 January 15, 2016 Neighbour reports a possible 'grave' at Brueckner's abandoned factory in East Germany. Cops find disturbing February 16, 2016 Christian Brueckner is convicted for abusing a girl of five in a park after images found on his laptop. He was sentenced to 15-months behind bars but was already on the run by then. May 3, 2017 Around this time, He reports an alleged confession by Christian Brueckner. September 27, 2018 On-the-run Christian Brueckner is arrested over outstanding drugs claims in Italy. He is extradited to Germany the following year. December 16, 2019 Christian Brueckner was convicted, in Germany, for the 2005 rape of an American woman in Praia da Luz, Portugal, after his DNA was matched to a hair found on her bed. He was sentenced to seven years behind bars. June 4, 2020 German prosecutors reveal to the world they have a suspect in custody under investigation for the abduction of Madeleine McCann. For the first time they claim German media later name him as June 23, 2023 In his first interview, witness Helge B alleges to German newspaper Bild that Christian Brueckner all-but-confessed the Madeleine abduction to him, by allegedly saying 'she didn't scream' as they talked about the case, at a music festival, in Spain. February 16, 2024 Brueckner goes on trial accused of non-McCann allegations of rape and sex assault, in Braunschweig, Germany. Prosecutors hope for a conviction to keep him behind bars permanently and lead to McCann charges. October 8, 2024 Prosecutors launch an appeal, however. Decision pending. June 3, 2025 September 17, 2025 Date on which Prosecutors require an arrest warrant for a retrial over claims from last year - or over the McCann case.
Irish Daily Mirror
8 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Maddie McCann police remove 'potential evidence' from new search
Police conducting the latest search for Madeleine McCann have recovered potential new evidence from the dig site. German teams appear to be focusing their attention on two derelict farmhouses in the scrubland. This morning officers were seen removing rubble from one of the abandoned buildings near the edge of a cliff and flying a drone over the property. Yesterday they were spotted draining an abandoned well and removing mounds of earth in plastic containers for analysis. Search teams are sweeping the area between Praia da Luz, where the three-year-old vanished on May 3 2007, and a house near the holiday resort where prime suspect Christian Brueckner used to live. The search continues today. This is a liveblog, please follow below for updates... A police drone is now flying over a second derelict property on the 50-hectare site. German detectives have ramped up their dramatic search for missing Madeleine McCann - turning their attention to a second abandoned farmhouse close to where the three-year-old vanished in 2007. Plain-clothed officers were today seen digging through and removing rubble from the graffiti-covered structure within 100 metres of a cliff edge in Portugal. The fresh search comes just 24 hours after investigators swarmed another crumbling building nearby, hauling away bags of earth for forensic testing. Madeleine McCann vanished in May 2007 while on holiday with her family in Praia da Luz. Her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, were eating at a nearby restaurant around 100 yards from the accommodation where Madeleine, then aged 3, was sleeping with her toddler twin siblings. When Kate returned to check on the kids, Madeleine was gone. Full story: Cops search graffiti-covered house after 'potential evidence' found Two police officers are standing next to one of the derelict farm houses and flying a drone over the abandoned property. It is the first time a police drone has been seen being used in the ongoing search operation. Plain-clothed officers are digging through and removing rubble from a graffiti-covered structure within 100 metres of a cliff edge near Praia da Luz, Portugal. Investigators are scouring the area for evidence that could link prime suspect Christian Brueckner to Madeleine's disappearance. He is coming to the end of a seven-year long prison sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old woman in the Algarve in 2005, which he still denies. Brueckner was arrested in Italy in 2018, but is due to be released from prison in Germany this September. Authorities fear that Brueckner could disappear when he walks free from prison if they can't tie him to the toddler's disappearance before then. Search teams are using strimmers and chainsaws to cut back vegetation and undergrowth outside a second abandoned property. They are wearing white hard hats and gloves German search teams have resumed their operation on scrubland close to Praia da Luz. Plain clothed officers have turned their attention to another derelict small farmhouse within 100 metres of the cliff edge. They can be seen removing rubble from the building, which is covered in graffiti. Yesterday, German investigators scoured another abandoned farmhouse - where they were seen removing mounds of earth before taking it away in plastic bags for further examination. Christian Brueckner was born in Germany in 1976, but moved to Portugal in his late teens. He is believed to have lived there for around 12 years - between 1995 and 2007. The 47-year-old convicted paedophile had at one point stayed in a campervan close to Praia da Luz - where Madeleine, then aged 3, disappeared in 2007. He made a 30-minute phone call in the resort just an hour before the toddler vanished, according to the Telegraph. Brueckner is also known to have spent time near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, about 30 miles from Praia da Luz, between 2000 and 2017. He has always and continues to deny any involvement in Madeleine's disappearance. Police have been pictured at the scene this morning - to the west of Praia De Luz, Portugal - where searches are being carried out by officers investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. Cops are stationed in the countryside a few miles from the resort where the toddler was last seen in 2007. The search is being conducted at the request of the German federal police as they look for evidence that could implicate Christian Brueckner, who German prosecutors say is the prime suspect in Madeleine's disappearance. Yesterday, German investigators scoured abandoned buildings, two wells and two water tanks on plots of land east of Praia da Luz. According to Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha, no leads have been uncovered so far. "The investigations were suspended at the end of the day, without finding anything relevant to the investigation," the outlet said. Police are scanning multiple plots of land in Praia De Luz close to the former home of prime suspect Christian Brueckner. Officers will focus on: It is not yet clear what sparked the latest search by German investigators. Investigators carrying out fresh searches on the outskirts of Praia da Luz as part of the ongoing probe into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have recovered samples of potential evidence. Officers were seen removing mounds of earth before taking it away in plastic bags for further examination. The evidence is said to have been recovered from abandoned properties near Praia Da Luz, close to where the toddler vanished. In April, ministers approved more than £100,000 in additional funding for Scotland Yard detectives investigating Madeleine McCann's disappearance. The Metropolitan Police will not be present at this week's search but said it is aware of the current operation. A statement from her parents Kate and Gerry McCann and the family said: "The years appear to be passing even more quickly and whilst we have no significant news to share, our determination to 'leave no stone unturned' is unwavering. We will do our utmost to achieve this." An investigator who once probed the Madeleine McCann case has issued a brutal seven-word verdict on the new police search. Mr Williams-Thomas claims he has already 'thoroughly investigated' the area the police are searching during his three part Paramount investigation called: Madeleine McCann: The Case Against Christian B. Read the full story here. The search comes just three weeks after Madeleine would be turning 22-years-old. On Monday May 12 Kate and Gerry updated their Official Find Madeleine CampaignFacebook page with a touching video captioned 'Happy 22nd birthday Madeleine.' The Facebook page has not been updated since. The search is expected to last around three days unless anything relevant is found by authorities. It will be the first search in Portugal for more than two years, following a near-week-long operation involving Portuguese, German and police officers at a remote dam a 40-minute-drive from Praia da Luz. It's been nearly 18 years since Kate and Gerry McCann last saw their daughter Madeleine McCann, and they still haven't given up hope of finding her. Not knowing what happened to her daughter placed a huge burden on her mental health, so Kate, who received her degree in medicine at the University of Dundee, quit her job as a GP. However, in 2021, it was reported that she had returned to the NHS frontline in a time of crisis against COVID-19. She reportedly worked as a doctor in hospitals in Leicester and was said to be pleased to be "doing her little bit to help" as the city battled with soaring hospital admissions. Gerry, a cardiologist who is also a research professor at the University of Leicester, was said to be working in the same hospital at times, although they were "hardly ever" expected to come across each other due to the busy nature of their prestigious jobs. In 2017, while marking the tenth anniversary of her daughter's disappearance, Kate opened up about how she still buys presents for Madeleine ahead of Christmas and birthdays. Kate explained: "I do all the present buying. I think about what age she is and buy something that, whenever we find her, will still be appropriate so there's a lot of thought goes into it." Almost two decades on, investigators in the U.K., Portugal and Germany are still piecing together what happened on the night she disappeared. She was in the same room as her brother and sister — 2-year-old twins — while their parents, Kate and Gerry, had dinner with friends at a nearby restaurant. The last time police resumed searches in the case was in 2023, when detectives from the three countries took part in an operation searching near a dam and a reservoir about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the Praia da Luz resort. Madeleine's family marked the 18th anniversary of her disappearance last month, and expressed their determination to keep searching. Searches for Madeleine McCann are to resume in Portugal, near where the little girl was last seen in 2007. On Tuesday, fresh searches for Madeleine began, as teams drained a well and cleared areas of dense vegetation near abandoned buildings in countryside a few miles from Praia da Luz. Madeleine, then aged three, vanished while on holiday with her family in the Algarve resort, after her parents went out to dinner and left her sleeping in a room with her toddler twin siblings. German investigators and Portuguese police officers and firefighters took part in the searches on Tuesday, as teams used strimmers, shovels and chainsaws to clear the undergrowth and debris around an abandoned building, and drained a well using a yellow hose. The main suspect in the case is a German national identified by media as Christian Brueckner, who is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for raping a 72-year-old woman in Portugal in 2005. He is under investigation on suspicion of murder in the McCann case but hasn't been charged. He spent many years in Portugal, including in Praia da Luz, around the time of the child's disappearance. Brueckner has denied any involvement in her disappearance. The operation launched this week is not being directed by British authorities, and instead involves detectives and police officers from Germany and Portugal. However, the Met Police - who were put in charge of the Madeleine McCann missing persons investigation in 2011 - have said they are "aware" of the searches taking place. A spokesman said: "We are aware of searches being carried out by police in Portugal as part of their investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann." Officers from Portugal's Polícia Judiciária - equivalent to the US's FBI or the National Crime Agency in Britain - were among those spotted in the search area earlier. One officer could be soon opening the boot of his car behind a large blue tent erected at the scene. The chief suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann is alleged to have told a friend "she didn't scream" soon after she vanished. Eyewitness Helge Busching, who was friends with Christian Brueckner in Portugal in the early 2000s, says he met him again at a music festival in Spain in 2008 - and discussed the Madeleine McCann case. Describing their conversation, he told German outlet Bild in 2023: 'He asked me: 'Don't you go to Portugal anymore and do business there?' 'I said: 'No, since the girl disappeared there, there have been too many police checks for me and I don't need that at all.' '[The topic of Madeleine's disappearance] came up and I said: 'Anyway, I don't understand how the little one could have disappeared without a trace.' 'Christian had drunk two or three beers, and he said: 'She didn't scream.'' The flurry of activity around the new search site in Portugal today suggests this will be a major operation - and one which German prosecutors hope will help connect Christian Brueckner to Madeleine McCann's disappearance. The last time this took place was in 2023, when detectives from the three countries joined forces in an operation searching near a dam and a reservoir about 30 miles from the resort. This time, the search area is located slightly closer to the Praia da Luz resort where the three-year-old was last seen on May 3, 2007. Search teams in the countryside have been seen using pickaxes, shovels and chainsaws to clear dense vegetation and dig near a derelict farmhouse. Firefighters have also pumped water out of a well. In a new piece for the Mirror, former Met Detective Chief Inspector Peter Kirkham explains how the new Madeleine McCann search is not just the police going over old ground - but warns the chance of a breakthrough is small. There have been several large scale searches connected to the Madeleine McCann investigation in the many years since she disappeared in Praia Da Luz. So what is different this time? The main difference is that on this occasion, officers are not just working from the crime scene but working back from a possible suspect – Christian Brueckner – too. This provides a very different context for the investigation as a whole and for the searches in particular but the importance of this is often overlooked. Detectives investigating a serious crime are usually engaged in what is known as a reactive investigation: a crime happens and officers react to it by following lines of enquiry which could explain how it came to happen. Searches connected with a reactive investigation tend to be focused on the crime scene as at least some part of the crime must have happened right there. Portuguese police confirmed yesterday that detectives were acting on a request from a German public prosecutor to carry out "a broad range" of searches this week in the area of Lagos, in southern main suspect is a German national identified by media as Christian Brueckner, who is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for raping a 72-year-old woman in Portugal in is under investigation on suspicion of murder in the McCann case, but hasn't been charged. Before his court appearance Germany last month, the Mirror confronted Christian Brueckner about whether he was responsible for Madeleine McCann's disappearance. He appeared to smirk, but did not respond. In June last year, a senior detective said they had discovered emails on Brueckner's Hotmail account that linked him to the McCann case. The detective said cops found a second account where he had swapped sickening child abuse videos with fellow paedophiles. He claimed Brueckner deleted all emails in that Hotmail account from the first half of 2007 - when Madeleine vanished. Prosecutors got access to the inbox after making an application to the US software giant Microsoft in 2019. Convicted rapist Christian Brueckner was born in Germany in 1976 and moved to Portugal in his late teens. It is believed he lived in the country between 1995 and 2007, and stayed in a campervan located not far from the holiday resort where Madeleine McCann was abducted. He is described as being around 6ft tall and slim, with short blonde hair. Brueckner has more than a dozen previous convictions for burglary, theft and sex offences, including serving an 18-month sentence in Germany for a sex attack on a youth when he was a teen. He is currently serving a seven-year prison term for raping an American pensioner in Praia da Luz and drug trafficking. The convicted German sex offender was first identified as a suspect in the Madeleine McCann case in 2022, after it emerged he had reportedly been driving around the Praia da Luz resort at the time the British three-year-old went missing in 2007.
Dublin Live
8 hours ago
- Dublin Live
M50 motorist caught at almost twice speed limit during Garda bank holiday operation
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info A motorist was detected driving at almost double the speed limit on the M50 over the weekend. The driver was clocked doing 188km/h in a 100km/h zone on the motorway near Templeogue. The detection was made as part of an extensive roads policing operation carried out by gardai between 7am on Thursday, May 29 and 7am on Tuesday, June 3. One person sadly lost their life on the roads over the weekend while 14 serious collisions resulted in 14 people suffering severe and life-threatening injuries. Gardai manned more than 830 Mandatory Intoxicant Testing (MIT) checkpoints over the weekend. Over 4,000 breath tests and around 270 oral fluid tests were carried out, leading to 167 arrests for suspected driving under the influence of an intoxicant. Officers were also out in force to clamp down on speeding on the country's roads, with almost 3,000 drivers detected over the speed limit. These included: 99km/h in a 50km/h zone on R212 at Clones, Co. Monaghan 114km/h in a 60km/h zone on R147 at Dunboyne, Co. Meath 119km/h in a 80km/h zone on R148 at Broadford, Co. Kildare Almost 500 vehicles were seized over the weekend. According to figures released by An Garda Siochana, 99 vehicles were seized from learner permit holders driving unaccompanied while a further 380 were seized for having no tax or insurance. Hundreds of Fixed Charge Notices were also issued over the weekend. These were for offences including: Using Mobile Phones – over 210 Unaccompanied learner drivers – over 215 No seatbelts – over 70 Commenting on the figures, a Garda spokesperson said: "An Garda Síochána continue to appeal to all road users to never drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs, to slow down and to always choose a speed that is appropriate to the driving conditions, to wear your seatbelt and keep your eyes always on the road." Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
