Latest news with #shoppingcentre
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- General
- Irish Times
Evan Fitzgerald: Carlow gunman was due in court to face 13 firearms and explosives charges
A man who opened fire in a busy Carlow shopping centre before fatally wounding himself was due to appear in court on Wednesday to face 13 firearms and explosives charges after being arrested last year. Gardaí believe Evan Fitzgerald (22) of Portrushen, Kiltegan, Carlow, who died at Fairgreen Shopping Centre in Carlow town on Sunday evening, was very fearful of going to prison. Though he was described by sources as posing a danger, due to his obsession with guns, he was also regarded as vulnerable. Assistant Commissioner Paula Hilman said what 'was meant to be a normal day out on a bank holiday weekend' had become a 'terrifying experience for every person that was present' at the shopping centre. READ MORE Mr Fitzgerald walked around the shopping centre discharging shots before fatally wounding himself. However, he fired into the air and did not attempt to shoot at anyone else, gardaí said. As shoppers fled from the centre, at about 6.15pm, gardaí received 999 calls alerting them to the fact shots were being fired. Uniformed gardaí were first to arrive and saw people fleeing the building before Mr Fitzgerald exited. They were followed quickly by armed detectives, who identified themselves to the gunman and drew their weapons. However, a further shot was then discharged from Mr Fitzgerald's shotgun, fatally wounding him. Garda Headquarters confirmed no shots were discharged by any of the gardaí present. Mr Fitzgerald was arrested in Co Kildare last year as part of an investigation by the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau into the purchase of guns on the dark net. He made full admissions and had been on bail awaiting trial. The operation last year resulting in the seizure of the two guns – a G3 Heckler & Koch machine gun and a Remington M1911 handgun – also involved the armed Emergency Response Unit. Gardaí believed Mr Fitzgerald and, allegedly, a number of associates had sourced the guns for recreational purposes, including shooting targets in the woods, rather than being involved in organised crime.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
'Sharpened focus' for Market Hall as owners to sell Welsh shopping centre
THE new owners of Carlisle's Market Hall are set to sell a shopping centre in North Wales in a move they say will help 'sharpen focus' on other active regeneration schemes. The Menai Centre, owned by Bearmont Capital, will go to auction with Savills on June 17 with a guide price of £4.2m. Bearmont Capital, the leaseholder that took over Carlisle's Market Hall in December last year amid concerns about the historic site's future, has a portfolio focused on "rejuvenating undervalued shopping centres, enhancing footfall and tenant mix to create sustainable retail spaces." Carlisle's Market Hall first opened in 1889 (Image: Stuart Walker) The Llandudno-based company took on The Menai Centre in Bangor in 2023. Rob Lloyd, CEO of Bearmont Group and former Channel 4 Secret Millionaire, said the decision to sell marks the natural conclusion of the company's original investment programme for the site. "The Menai Centre was always a longer-term investment, and we're incredibly proud of the progress made since acquiring it in 2023," he said. "At that time, the 130,000 sq ft building was approximately 80 per cent vacant, having lost major tenants like Debenhams and H&M during the pandemic. "Since then, Bearmont Capital has invested significantly in breathing new life into the site - attracting new occupiers, securing long-term tenancies, and working closely with partners to support a key regeneration scheme in Bangor. "Today, the centre is virtually fully occupied, playing a renewed role in the local economy," he said. Among the 'significant milestones' at the site is said to be the transformation of the former Debenhams unit into a health and wellbeing hub, developed in partnership with Cyngor Gwynedd and the Betsi Cadwaladr health board, and backed by Welsh Government funding. "We've successfully delivered on everyone's wants, needs and aspirations in bringing that hub to life, and it stands as a great example of how we want to work: in true partnership with local authorities to drive real community value," Rob said. "That same collaborative approach is exactly what we're looking forward to continuing with Cumberland Council." In Carlisle, the Bearmont Group has so far completed external restoration efforts to the covered market , which first opened in 1889, and yesterday (May 30), welcomed B&M into the 20,487sq ft vacant space which was formerly occupied by Wilko. "Since purchasing The Market Hall, we've already completed phases one to three of investment and welcomed B&M this morning into a fully refurbished, bright, and impressive new store. B&M moves into former Wilko unit in Carlisle (Image: NQ) "A second new retailer is due to open in Units 5 and 6 next week. "It's an exciting time with real momentum behind the scheme, and we remain committed to delivering long-term, sustainable improvements across all our sites," Rob said. Phase four of investment into the site, which includes refurbishing the old toilet block, is currently ongoing with Bearmont working with local contractor Cubby Construction.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE I lost 15kg on Mounjaro and went from a size 16 to a 10 - here's the frightening truth about what happened after my last jab: JUSTINE MARTIN
I was walking through the shopping centre in my new size 10 jeans when I smelled it. The unmistakable sweet cinnamon aroma of a warm doughnut.
CTV News
26-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Dartmouth development project to be extensive
Atlantic Watch A development project in the old Dartmouth shopping centre, known as Little Brooklyn, is set to make the area unrecognizable.
News.com.au
25-05-2025
- News.com.au
Hero shopper performs citizen's arrest in ‘disgraceful' Northland Shopping Centre brawl
Footage has shown the moment a heroic shopper pinned down a man wielding a machete and held him in a chokehold during the terrifying shopping centre lockdown in Melbourne's northeast. Emergency services were called to Northland Shopping Centre in Preston on Sunday afternoon following reports of two groups of men – some armed with knives and wearing ski masks – were engaged in a suspected gang fight, sending staff and shoppers fleeing. Two teenage boys – a 16-year-old from the Darebin area and a 15-year-old from the Melton area – were arrested at the scene. In a statement on Monday morning, police said they had charged the pair with affray, intentionally causing injury, possessing a controlled weapon and using a controlled weapon. They were remanded in custody to appear in children's court. A 20-year-old man who was rushed to hospital with serious injuries is in a stable condition, police said. Two other men injured in the fight later presented to hospital. Within minutes of the brawl breaking out, one man was apprehended by a member of the public, who pinned him to the ground, as shown in the above footage. Another shopper could be seen in the footage tending to a man who was bleeding. Victoria Police Superintendent Kelly Lawson said police arrived to a 'really chaotic scene', some six minutes after receiving the first call. Multiple units, including a special operations group, tactical response team officers and cops, descended on the Murray Rd shopping centre. The 'rival gangs' had prearranged to meet up in the food court, Supt Lawson said, adding it was 'pretty disgraceful' that shoppers had been 'exposed to this kind of behaviour'. 'It's really frightening for members of the public to go through this,' she said. 'For the people here today it would have been horrific, and I really feel for them so we need to keep doing what we can to stop it.' Supt Lawson earlier revealed the fight 'is said to have been an act of retaliation … not just a random attack'. 'It's happened in a busy shopping centre, so there clearly was a risk to the public, there's always a risk to the public,' she said. 'But what the public need to take comfort in is that this wasn't just some people that went out to attack general people with the public, they were attacking each other. It was planned.' Anyone who witnessed the incident is being encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers. The lockdown sparked chaos at the bustling centre, with patrons screaming and running for the exits or into surrounding stores after the fighting began, later sharing footage and photos of the incident to social media. 'The world is mad. Just got home from Northland!' one woman wrote on X. 'Was locked in a store room in Myer, staff were fantastic. Still shaken. Hope injured will be OK.' 'People were running and screaming and we had to close our doors to protect our customers and ourselves,' one retail worker and witness, Rodney, told The Age. 'Everyone was locking customers in to be safe. Then police came through and said, 'Get behind us and we will take you out of the centre'.' It was the worst violence he had seen in almost eight years working at the centre, Rodney said. Another woman, Hanaa, had been sitting at Gelatissimo with her three-year-old daughter when the fighting 'broke out in front' of them. 'We saw a man stabbed and bashed. We saw it all,' Hanaa told The Age. She took her daughter to the back to the gelato shop and phoned police. Liberal MP for the Northern Metropolitan Region Evan Mulholland urged people to avoid the area in a post on social media. 'Our shopping centres should be a safe place for families,' Mr Mulholland wrote on Sunday afternoon. 'Northland in particular is a destination for many families in the north. I was there with my own family yesterday. 'We continue our call for the Labor Government to enact the machete ban immediately.' Supt Lawson said 'there is no secret' police also want that ban in place 'as soon as possible'. 'We are really concerned about the use of edged weapons, but we are doing all that we can in relation to that and to making public places safe,' she said.
