Man doused himself and wife in petrol in stand-off

A MAN doused himself and his wife in petrol and threatened to kill them both in front of their children.

A hostage negotiator had to be drafted in to resolve what led to a tense stand-off with gardaí at a housing estate.

The specialist was brought in after a man in his late 30s threw petrol over his wife and himself and threatened to kill them both in front of their two children.

Their eldest child, an 18-yearold, alerted gardaí after his father ‘began to get out of control’ and was threatening self-harm and serious violence to others.

Within minutes of receiving the call from the distressed 18-yearold, gardaí from Enniskerry and Bray were on the scene.

A trained Garda hostage negotiator was immediately contacted. A senior source said: ‘There were obviously major concerns about the welfare of the two children, their mother and indeed their father. The hostage negotiator did a fantastic job. He spoke to the man on the phone and managed to calm him down, talking him down essentially from causing serious harm to himself or his wife and family.

‘The situation was also handled very well at the scene by the local sergeant. The end result could have been tragic. But thankfully everyone was unharmed.’

The man was arrested by gardaí following the stand-off on June 14 just after 1pm.

Gardaí finally managed to gain access to the home following tense negotiations. There was a ‘struggle’ to take him into custody, it is claimed.

There was a younger child also present in the house. State body Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, have been informed.

The man was taken to Bray Garda station and questioned. It is understood he was psychiatrically evaluated, which would be common practice after such violent threats.

Gardaí are currently preparing a file for the DPP who will determine whether the man should face criminal charges.

Senior sources say that gardaí in Wicklow handled this ‘extremely volatile situation’ in ‘the most professional way’.

A source said: ‘There has been an unprecedented number of deaths in Wicklow in recent weeks.

‘Gardaí are thankful that this case ended without a fatality. Huge credit must go to the gardaí at the scene who defused it.’

In relation to the petrol incident, which happened in Enniskerry, gardaí in Wicklow are understood to be ‘relieved’ it was peacefully resolved.

Among recent violent incidents in Co. Wicklow was the abduction in Enniskerry on May 19 of Jastine Valdez by Mark Hennessy, who was living in Bray.

She was killed by Hennessy, who forced her into his 4x4 vehicle.

He strangled her less than an hour after abducting her and dumped her body at a nearby disused golf course.

Hennessy was shot dead by an armed garda a day later.

A note left in Hennessy’s Nissan Qashqai directed gardaí to a location in south Co. Dublin. Gardaí found the body of the 24-year-old, who had been strangled, the day after Hennessy’s death.

The garda who shot Mark Hennessy believed the man was stabbing Ms Valdez in his vehicle when he took aim, it has been reported.

Just two weeks later, boxing trainer Pete Taylor was the target of a gunman who walked into his gym and wounded three people, one fatally, in an unrelated attack. Married father-of-three Bobby Messett was killed as he worked out in Bray Boxing Club where the gunman opened fire on June 5. Mr Messett, 50, who was shot in the head, was a sports fanatic. He was attending a boot camp-style class when the shooting occurred.

Ian Britton, a 35-year-old from Greystones, Co. Wicklow, was shot twice in the legs in the incident. Mr Taylor was also shot.

Neither Mr Messett, Mr Taylor nor Mr Britton are involved in criminality.

In another unconnected incident just days later a man died in Bray following a one-punch assault. Co. Wicklow man Vincent McCullagh Kelly was assaulted outside the Royal Hotel in the town in the early hours of June 9.

‘Huge credit to the gardaí at scene’