Locals in fear over escalating violence in Limerick-Cork border towns

THERE is rising fear that innocent bystanders will get hurt or killed in the escalating violence which has appalled communities in Kilmallock and Charleville, and reached new levels over the weekend.
There has been a heightened garda presence in both towns in recent days and garda investigations have been launched into the discharge of firearms at a home, damage by fire at a house and damage to a car.
Gardaí in Bruff and Mallow are investigating the alleged incidents, which all happened on Friday last between early evening, at around 5pm, and just before 10pm that night.
One business person who did not wish to be identified told the Limerick Leader: “This won’t stop until somebody goes to jail or is killed.”
Footage - which is understood to be of the alleged incidents - is being shared widely on social media.
One video shows a group of men wearing balaclavas smashing the windows of a house with a crowbar before several shots are fired at the house, while another shows a group running up to a house in an estate, smashing in the windows and starting a fire.
Another business owner added that people living in the area affected are “living a nightmare” in fear with open drug dealing allegedly going on in their estates and gardens.
“The anti-social behaviour is just ridiculous and we have asked time and time again for our public representatives to be vocal about it, but the housing system is flawed, people from the area can't get on the housing list,” she said.

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Sinn Féin councillor for the Cappamore-Kilmallock Municipal District, PJ Carey said there are concerns that an innocent person will be hurt. He said that “people are angry that Kilmallock is getting a bad name from all of this”.
He added that Justice Minister Helen McEntee putting a stop to the Joint Policing Committee meetings has cut off a reliable channel of communication between the districts and senior gardaí and that it was the only opportunity councillors had to air worries about incidents or safety patrols in their areas.
The criminal damage by fire happened at a house in the Fortlands area of Charleville, at around 8.50pm on Friday and gardaí say that no one was in the house at the time and no injuries were reported.
Meanwhile, the discharge of a firearm is being investigated at a house on the Charleville to Kilmallock road just outside Garrienderk. Later that night, there was allegedly criminal damage to a car in the Rathgoggin area of Charleville.
Just three weeks ago, at around 7.20pm, a gunshot was fired from a moving car at another vehicle on the main Limerick to Cork road. A week before that, a 12-year-old girl was caught in the crossfire as an unintended victim at a house in Charleville and suffered injuries in what was described by gardaí as a “heinous assault” which was “reprehensible.”
One resident said: “These are residential estates. This type of violence has been ongoing since last December. It is like the Wild West in Charleville. Nobody feels like they can speak up for fear of intimidation.”
A senior garda source from Bruff garda district said they are appealing to anyone who sees anything suspicious to report it to the gardaí in Bruff and Mallow.