Gardaí hunt gunman after ‘old school’ criminal shot dead outside his home
DETECTIVES are attempting to establish a motive for the murder of a Dublin man who was shot dead outside his home.
David Chen (42) was gunned down as he left his home at Foxdene Avenue, Clondalkin shortly after 2pm yesterday afternoon.
The murder victim – who was also known as David Lynch – was shot a number of times by a gunman and died at the scene.
He was closely connected to a number of major criminals across Dublin and Kildare, but kept a low profile and had no major criminal convictions.
Mr Chen was also a close associate of notorious criminal Mark ‘Guinea Pig’ Desmond, who himself was shot dead in 2016.
Despite being associates, Mr Chen had been under investigation for orchestrating the murder of his former pal.
Following the murder yesterday afternoon, the gunman fled the scene in a white van, which was found burned out a short distance away, outside Lucan National Community School.
A firearm with a silencer attached was discovered beside the burned-out car, which gardaí suspect was the murder weapon.
In the direct aftermath of yesterday’s shooting, dozens of children on their way home from school are said to have witnessed the man’s body lying in the road.
As gardaí assessed the crime scene, local residents came out of their homes to ask for information and to express their shock.
One woman, who did not want to be named, told the Irish Independent that children as young as four were in the area shortly after the incident.
“The man was lying on the road for a good while before the gardaí came,” she said.
“The shooting happened around the same time that the junior kids were walking home from school. By the time I came out of my house to see what was going on, I saw a good few of them just metres away from the body.
“Thankfully, they were with their parents, who had the sense to leave the area as soon as they realised what happened.”
Despite having barely any criminal convictions, Mr Chen was considered an “old school” gangster, with connections to major criminals in the Clondalkin, Kildare and Crumlin areas.
“His convictions were mainly for very minor offences, and this individual never served a jail sentence,” a senior source last night told the Irish Independent.
Detectives are now looking closely at his lengthy list of criminal associates in an effort to establish potential suspects for the gangland-style murder.