The Irish News
Gardai are searching for a gang of masked men who shot a 26-year-old Derry man and his pet dog and abducted his girlfriend. The victim, named locally as Declan Gallagher, a taxi driver from the Creggan area of Derry, had to undergo surgery at Letterkenny General Hospital but was in a stable condition last night.
He came under attack as he drove up to his home in Transallagh, near the border village of St Johnston, in Co Donegal around 9.20pm on Thursday. Gardai say a group of around four masked men approached his Audi car - which was also carrying his girlfriend and their pet dog - and fired at least one shot through the windscreen with a handgun.
He was injured in the neck and the dog was shot in the abdomen. His girlfriend, thought to be in her twenties, tried to flee but was bundled into a large blue van by the masked men, who dumped her after driving for a few kilometres. Although he was injured, Mr Gallagher managed to drive to a neighbour's house in Manorcunningham, where an ambulance was called.
A call was also made to a local vet, Gerard Roarty, to treat the injured animal. Mr Roarty said part of the St Bernard puppy's intestine had to be removed during a four hour operation. "The dog just fell out of the car and I could see the entry and exit wound and that it had lost a lot of blood," he said.
"The bullet had gone through the abdomen of the dog and had left a big hole. There was a four hour operation and it was touch-and-go a lot of the time but we are delighted with the progress - it has been bright and alert since the operation." Mr Roarty said the surgery at Letterkenny animal hospital was inundated with calls from people in the community concerned about the animal's well-being. "We have decided to call him Bullet because of what has happened," he said.
Fianna Fail councillor Damien Blake said there was concern in the tiny border town after the second shooting within a year. Nine months ago Michael McDaid was shot in his home in St Johnston by a group of masked men, who claimed to represent the dissident group the Republican Defence Army.
"St Johnston has seen a rise in petty crime and robberies but when we see it growing into the second shooting in a year in such a small town, people become really concerned," said Mr Blake. "The success of this operation remains to be seen but it is vital for this area that those responsible are brought to justice."
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