By Digital Desk Staff
Investigators from the Garda Ombudsman will examine video footage of the fatal Garda shooting of a man in west Dublin on Wednesday.
George Nkencho (27) was shot at least three times in his front garden by members of the Blanchardstown Armed Support Unit (ASU) while allegedly brandishing a knife and threatening gardaí.
The Irish Times reports that a 13-second mobile phone video, shot by a passerby, shows a man in a blue jumper surrounded by ASU members outside Mr Nkencho’s family house.
A gunshot can be heard before the man in blue is seen swinging his arm towards the officers. It is unclear from the footage if there is something in his hand.
Another four shots are then heard, with the man appearing to stumble before falling to the ground on the fifth shot.
The video footage was captured from the other side of a green area in front of the house on Manorfields Drive in Clonee.
Sources have informed the Irish Times that all the shots came from an official Garda weapon. At least three hit Mr Nkencho.
Yesterday’s events were... very traumatic, very upsetting for absolutely everybody involved
First aid was administered by ASU members before paramedics from the Dublin Fire Brigade arrived and began CPR.
Mr Nkencho was taken to James Connolly Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
On Thursday, Justice Minister Helen McEntee described the incident as traumatic.
“Yesterday’s events were, they were very traumatic, very upsetting for absolutely everybody involved,” she said.
“A life has been lost and I want to express my sympathies to George’s family but also to those who are impacted by yesterday’s events.
“What happens now, and this is not something we see very often in Ireland, but what happens now is that there will be a GSOC (Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission) investigation into what happened.”
Knife
The incident began shortly after midday on Wednesday when Mr Nkencho, according to eyewitnesses, entered a Eurospar supermarket in Hartstown where he punched a manager in the face.
He reportedly took a knife from his pocket and brandished to towards staff, then moved to the Post Office section of the Hartstown Shopping Centre, with unarmed gardaí arriving shortly after.
At least 12 unarmed gardaí followed Mr Nkencho out of the shop and through several housing estates while instructing him to drop the knife.
When Mr Nkencho reached his front garden at around 12.30pm, the ASU had arrived to take over the operation, which is when fatal shots were fired.
In a statement, An Garda Síochána said it used a “graduated policing response” after being threatened with a knife, which is understood to have involved the use of pepper spray and Taser guns.
Gardaí said attempts to use less-than-lethal force to resolve the incident proved unsuccessful.
