Police have not determined a motive, but Irish Prime Minister Edna Kenny told reporters the attack appeared to be part of a turf war between rival criminal gangs in Dublin.
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In a statement following this evening’s shooting, police said: “Gardaí at Fitzgibbon St in Dublin are investigating a shooting incident which occurred at Poplar Row, North Strand, Dublin 3 at approximately 7.45pm this evening”.
The start of the terrifying attack was caught on camera as Jamie Kavanagh was weighing in for his bout and the gunmen opened fire, sending fans, boxers and officials fleeing for the exit.
Among those that targeted Byrne and other members of Kinahan’s gang on Friday were gunmen carrying AK47 Kalashnikov rifles – once the standard-issue weapon of republican paramilitary groups in Ireland.
Byrne’s shooting came at a preliminary weigh-in for a boxing match in a Dublin hotel at which about 300 people were present.
The boxing event, which has now been canceled, included a European championship title fight between Jamie Kavanagh and Antonio Jao Bento.
In a statement, police revealed they found three injured men, all in their 20s or 30s, with one of these men “pronounced dead”.
It is understood the atrocity may have been an act of retaliation for the killing of Dublin criminal Gary Hutch last September.
“The Continuity IRA will carry out further military operations”.
UTV Ireland’s Sarah O’Connor said: “With this shooting coming just three days after what happened in the Regency Hotel, it’s feared it could trigger all-out gangland warfare”.
In a statement to the BBC, a man who said he was speaking on behalf of the leadership of the Continuity IRA (CIRA) made the claim about the attack, which also left two others injured.
Amateur video footage of the weigh-in was posted online showing the horror unfold.
Photographs of the gang have been published but gardai requested that media pixelate the faces of two of those not in the Swat style uniforms.
Police said the victim had been shot by masked men on a residential street in north central Dublin, in the latest attack thought to be related to a feud between Irish criminal gangs operating at home and in Spain.
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To counter any retaliation for Friday’s fatal shooting, the Garda Síochána have erected armed checkpoints at major routes into Dublin.
