Shooting Victim Feared Paralyzed

The 35-year-old man shot in front of his girlfriend and her two young children yesterday is feared to have been paralyzed by the attack.

News of the injuries emerged on Tuesday after the weekend attack when the man - who was standing in his girlfriend's Co. Cork house - was shot through the window several times.

The man was in the company of two young children during the shooting and was hit in the shoulder and lower abdomen.

As the man remained in a critical, but stable condition in Cork University Hospital on Monday night, preliminary analysis has led doctors to believe one of the bullets may have caused spinal damage. The man will be transferred to a hospital in Dublin for more detailed assessment today.

The wounded man, who is from Togher on the southside of Cork city.

The gunman fled the scene in a waiting car. A green Mercedes saloon matching the car's description was later found burned out less than two miles away.

Gardaí are now conducting a full technical examination of the vehicle for clues as to its occupants. No firearm was recovered despite extensive gardaí searches.

(DW)