A man in his 40s was last evening still in custody and detained at Castlebar Garda Station in relation to Tuesday evening’s shooting of a woman in her 50s in the village of Balla.
The man was arrested just an hour after the horror shooting which has shocked the Balla area.
The terrifying incident occurred on Tuesday at around 6.30pm when the man — who is believed to be known to the victim, Dympna Walsh — entered Costcutter’s in Main Street, Balla and shot her in the legs at point blank range.
Horrified witnesses looked on as he shot the woman in the legs.
The man abandoned the shotgun and then fled the scene.
The injured woman lay on the floor of the busy shop until she was taken by ambulance to Mayo General Hospital.
A garda search was sparked off in the locality as news of the shooting spread.
Gardaí have issued an appeal for anyone who saw the man to come forward.
Officers recovered the weapon and just an hour after the shooting, the man, who is believed to be a businessman from Claremorris, was arrested in Mayo Abbey.
Gardaí have been trying to establish a motive for the shooting as the incident was not a robbery.
Local speculation believes that the motive was of a personal nature.
The woman, a mother of four, remains in Mayo General Hospital and is said to have non life-threatening injuries.
The scene was preserved for a full-technical examination. Gardaí are appealing for witnesses to contact the incident room at Castlebar Garda Station.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Castlebar Garda Station 094 903 8200, or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666111.
Local Fine Gael councillor Cyril Burke, who resides near Balla in Ballyglass, told the Mayo Advertiser that there is a sense of shock among the local community.
The local area representative said that, from talking to locals over the past few days, “people are dismayed that during a busy time of the evening, when people are rambling into the shop” that such an incident occured.
“An event like this in a small country town was completely unexpected,” he added.
“I couldn’t believe when I heard it,” said one local resident who spoke to the Mayo Advertiser. “The woman who was hurt is well known in the village and it is terrible that this happened, especially in such a public place as anybody could have been in the shop when the shots were fired”
At the time of going to print on Thursday afternoon no charges had been pressed against the man.
