A huge Garda investigation is under way after an 11-year-old boy fired a gun he found in a bush, which was discarded when gardaí pursued two suspected drug dealers.

The child found the gun in Ballymun, north Dublin, on Tuesday at around 3pm, gardaí said. He fired the weapon a short time later while a child as young as six years old was present but nobody was injured, sources said.

The gun – which is still missing – is suspected to have belonged to the two young men who were being chased by gardaí and were later arrested.

They are well-known to officers and are strongly suspected of being involved in the local drugs trade, as well as a new feud.

One of the youths who was being pursued was using an e-scooter, an increasingly common mode of transport for young dealers or ‘runners’ who are used to do deals as the higher-ups do not want to risk jail.

One source explained: ‘These young lads on scooters are recruited at a young age to do their bidding. It’s been happening for years. They see the older guys as having loads of cash, fancy cars and they want to be them.

‘Gardaí in Ballymun have been on proactive patrols to capture these runners to try to get them away from a lifetime of crime and that’s what happened here.

‘Two officers gave chase and it’s the Garda theory that the weapon they were transporting was ditched in case they got caught. They were nabbed but there was nothing on them.

‘But then this child finds the gun in a bush and fires a round off,’ the source said. Anything could have happened and thankfully there were no injuries. But there were others around, including a little boy no older than six.

‘The main problem now is actually finding the gun. You’ve to remember some of these areas are run by gangs and there’s a code of silence around the place.

‘The two lads arrested are very well-known to the local gardaí here. Right now, there’s very little doubt that this was the transporting of a weapon to a gang member who intended to use it,’ said the source.

‘They’re also not ruling out that the two men were on their way to carry out a gun attack.’

The local feud between two drug gangs has been going on for the past 18 months and gardaí believe that at least one murder can be attributed to it.

In June last year, Kevin Kelly, who was in his 20s, was killed in a hit-and-run in the Balbutcher area of Ballymun. Gardaí believe he was purposely targeted due to the ongoing feud.

Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said he has been briefed by gardaí about the circumstances of the incident.

‘My thoughts are with the child and their family at this time. ‘I am aware that individuals have been arrested in relation to the incident. Therefore I will not be making any further comment about this ongoing criminal investigation,’ he said.

A Garda spokesman said: ‘Gardaí responded to reports of a firearm incident in Ballymun, Dublin, on Tuesday, April 28, at approximately 3pm.

‘In the course of responding to this incident, unarmed, uniformed gardaí pursued on foot two males, one of whom was on an e-scooter.

Call for ‘turning point’ after reports of child firing gun in north Dublin