Meath shooting: Man dies in gun attack

Police are at the scene of the shooting in The Old Mill housing estate in Ratoath

A man has been killed in a gun attack in a village in County Meath in the Republic of Ireland.

A police spokesman said it happened at The Old Mill housing estate in Ratoath at about 19:45 local time.

State broadcaster, RTÉ, said two cars have been found burnt out nearby and it had "hallmarks of a gangland attack".

It said the victim was a friend of Dublin criminal Gerry Hutch, whose family was caught up in a feud that led to a hotel gun attack in February.

One man died when gunmen posing as police officers opened fire inside Dublin's Regency Hotel on 5 February, during a boxing weigh-in event.

Days later Gerry Hutch's brother, Eddie Hutch Sr, was shot dead in his Dublin flat, in a suspected reprisal for the hotel gun attack.

Their nephew, Gary Hutch, was shot dead in Spain last September, reportedly as part of the same feud.

The man who was killed in the Ratoath shooting was in his 50s but his name has not yet been released and a motive for the attack has not been confirmed.

His body remains at the scene which has been cordoned off by police.

A state pathologist has attended and a post-mortem examination is due to be carried out on Thursday,