Man in Carlow shot himself as gardaí approached him

No member of An Garda Síochána discharged a weapon during shopping centre tragedy

Gardai have now provided a picture of how a man was fatally wounded in a gun incident at a shopping centre in Carlow yesterday (Sunday).

A man in his 20s died in the incident at Fairgreen Shopping Centre, Carlow Town.

A girl also received minor injuries related to the incident which did not require hospital treatment.

A short time ago, An Garda Síochána Assistant Commissioner Paula Hilman issued this statement to the media:

“Yesterday, Sunday 1st June 2025, shortly after 6.15pm An Garda Síochána received multiple reports of shots fired in the Fairgreen Shopping Centre, Carlow.

“Gardaí responded to the scene and met a large number of people running from the shopping Centre.

“An unarmed uniform unit arriving at the scene observed the suspect exiting the shopping centre.

“The suspect discharged a firearm, a shotgun, into the air.

“Another plainclothes armed Garda unit responding drew their official firearms and identified themselves as armed gardaí.

“The suspect discharged the firearm again, self-inflicting a fatal wound.

“No member of An Garda Síochána discharged a weapon.

“An Garda Síochána now understands that the lone male had walked through the shopping centre and had discharged the firearm, into the air, on a number of occasions.

“No person was injured by the shots discharged.

“A young girl, in the shopping centre with her parents, suffered a minor leg injury when she fell while running from the scene.”

In her statement to the media, the Assistant Commissioner added: “This was meant to be a normal day out on a bank holiday weekend. This was a terrifying experience for every person that was present in the Fairgreen Shopping Centre, yesterday evening."

Paula Hilman explained the body of the deceased remains at the scene at this time and will be removed to the State Pathologist Office, Whitehall where formal identification will be carried out.

She also acknowledged the impact this “serious incident” has had on the local community and appealing for privacy for the family of the dead man, AC Paula Hillman said: “An Garda Síochána is also very aware that there is a family grieving the death of their loved one at this time.”