One dead after gunmen launch horror attack as boxers weigh in
ONE man died and two others were injured when gunmen armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles opened fire at a Dublin boxing match weigh-in.
Terrified families ran screaming for cover as gunfire rang out in the packed Regency Hotel yesterday afternoon.
Up to four men – two of them reportedly dressed as police officers and one dressed as a woman – burst in around 2.30pm.
Amateur video footage posted online shows scenes of frenzy and terror as men, women and children scatter in fear of their lives. One child is heard crying: ‘Daddy, help me. Daddy, what was that?’
Three men aged in their 20s or 30s were injured and Irish police last night confirmed one had since died.
The weigh-in was ahead of a Clash of the Clans boxing bout at the city’s National Stadium, scheduled to take place this evening.
The event, which included a WBO European lightweight title fight between Jamie Kavanagh and Antonio Jao Bento, has since been cancelled. Witness Mel Christle, president of the Boxing Union of Ireland, said: ‘There was a horrific cracking noise in front of me, out of the banquet room. There was an incredible noise out there and that is where I saw a body, a corpse, lying literally at the edge of the reception desk. I’m sure he [the victim] was trapped – he was riddled.’
Mr Christle said one of the gunmen was dressed up as a woman and aged in his early 20s. The boxing chief was adamant the attackers were not targeting the boxers gathered for the weigh-in, but other individuals who were hit in the hotel reception.
He said there was panic as some people dived for cover when they realised what was happening.
‘I actually saw the sheer fear that will live with them for a long, long time,’ he said of those who witnessed the shooting.
‘It actually touched me – I’m sure adults were afraid, but my God, the children couldn’t believe what was going on.’
Mr Christle said he saw two attackers wielding handguns, one dressed as a woman, but others saw a further pair of accomplices dressed in garda-style uniforms.
‘Fear will live with them for a long time’