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Mother-of-six and friend gunned down in family home in Dublin

Gunmen open fire at a house full of kids, in a gangland style attack in the middle of the afternoon.

The house on Balbutcher Drive in Ballymun, Dublin where the woman and man were shot dead
Image: The house on Balbutcher Drive in Ballymun, Dublin, where the woman and man were shot dead
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A mother-of-six and her friend have been killed after gunmen stormed a family home in the Ballymun area of north Dublin - with the intended target escaping unhurt.

The gangland-style shooting took place around 4pm outside a house on Balbutcher Drive.

The victims have been named locally as mother-of-six Antoinette Devoy, 42, and her friend Clint Sheridan.

The forensic team at the scene of the crime
Image: The forensic team at the scene of the crime

Another woman - who is understood to have been pregnant - and a second man were also hurt and taken to hospital.

The attackers are believed to have been targeting the murdered woman's brother, Derek 'Bottler' Devoy, 37.

Described as the "number one gangland target in Ireland" in 2015, he is reported to have escaped unhurt.

His brother, Michael 'Mad Mickey' Devoy, was shot dead in Dublin in 2014 - the day after he was released from prison.

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The area has now been cordoned off
Image: Armed police are now patrolling the cordoned off area

The shooting is believed to be linked to long-running family feuds in the area, which have led to numerous shootings and assaults.

Gardai, the Irish police, found two partially burned-out cars - a silver Opel Zafira and a Volkwagen Golf GTI - shortly after the killings.

Officers also recovered a gun close to the scene, sealing off the area for forensic tests and sending out armed officers to patrol the street.

Justice minister Charlie Flanagan said the killers had "no regard for human life" and said the "cold-blooded violence has no place in our communities"

Local Social Democrat TD Roisin Shortall said the community feared an escalation of the gangland violence recently seen in the area.

She said: "The horrific incident is a chilling reminder of the extent of gangland crime on Dublin's streets, much of it drug-fuelled."

Sinn Fein TD for Dublin North West, Dessie Ellis, urged people to "desist", saying: "Nobody should be targeted, nobody should retaliate or get involved."