Man arrested after shooting at gardaí and fleeing scene

Last night a man shot at uniformed gardaí before fleeing a house in St Luke’s by car.

After armed gardaí pursued the man, they arrested him at the toll plaza on the M8 Cork-Dublin motorway near Watergrasshill just after midnight after a lengthy chase. 

The man was arrested and is being held in Fermoy Garda Station. 

There are long tailbacks on the M8 this afternoon due to the incident last night.

Gardaí initially responded to an incident on Military Road in St Luke’s at around 11.40pm last night.  

When gardaí arrived at the scene, a man discharged a number of shots from a suspected firearm in the direction of uniformed gardaí. 

The man then left the scene in a car and he was chased by gardaí, led by members of the Armed Support Unit for more than 20 minutes.

At the toll plaza on the M8 northbound shortly after midnight, gardaí successfully deployed a stinger device which halted the suspect's vehicle after he had smashed through the toll plaza. 

The man exited the vehicle and fired his gun at gardaí again. 

The male suspect, aged in his early 20s, was arrested, only after the use of a less than lethal device by the Armed Support Unit. 

The man is currently being detained at Fermoy Garda Station under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act 1939.

No injuries were reported during the incidents. The M8 motorway was closed this morning in both directions between junctions 15 and 17 so that a technical examination was carried out. Diversions are still in place however. 

A scene is also currently being preserved at Military Road and investigations are ongoing.

The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) have been notified of this incident.