Five women hurt in gun attack on guard

(First Edition)

FIVE WOMEN were wounded when a man attempting to rob a bank fired a sawn-off shotgun at a security guard and missed in central Dublin yesterday.

The victims were all either standing at a bus stop in Lower O'Connell Street or passing close by. The area was crowded with shoppers and passengers waiting for buses to suburban areas when two men, one armed with a sawn-off shotgun, confronted a Securicor guard delivering cash to a Bank of Ireland branch close to the General Post Office at 2.35pm.

When the gun was fired the shoppers standing behind the guard were blasted by the spray of pellets from the single shot.

In the ensuing commotion the men tried to grab the cash from the guard but apparently failed. A detective who was in a nearby shop heard the shot and the women's screams and sprinted after one of the robbers.

He chased him into the adjacent North Earl Street where he was arrested.

Last night, gardai were searching for the other raider carrying the shotgun.

The injured were taken to Dublin's Mater Hospital where one of the women was discharged later after treatment for minor injuries. The condition of one of the other victims was reported to be serious.