Young man killed in suspected gangland shooting was due in court this month on drugs charges
Gardaí are continuing to investigate all the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting on Knocknarea Road, Drimnagh, Dublin 12. Picture: Colin Keegan, Collins
The young man shot dead in a suspected gangland ambush in Dublin on Monday morning was due before the courts on drug-dealing charges in the coming weeks.
Joshua Itseli, who just turned 20 in January, was due in court on May 23 for a book of evidence to be served for two drugs charges — possession of cocaine for sale or supply and simple possession of cocaine.
Mr Itseli had also been sent forward for trial on April 11 for possession of cocaine for sale or supply at Lansdowne Valley Park in Dublin 12 on June 15, 2023, according to court documents.
Gardaí are now investigating whether Mr Itseli's brutal killing was related to the Dublin drugs trade and a feud between gangs.
A cousin of the man shot dead in Drimnagh had said her family is “very upset”.
Speaking to the , the woman, who did not wish to be named, said: "He was a nice boy, something went wrong. He lived here for a little while but not anymore, he moved into the city. What else can we say but that we are very upset."
One line of inquiry into his killing is that Mr Itseli was shot dead in an ambush by heavily armed criminals who believed he was on route to carry out an attack.
Gardaí retrieved a military grade AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifle from a hedge near the scene of the Drimnagh attack and are investigating whether it was used in Mr Itseli’s killing.
A post-mortem examination on the young man is to be carried out on Tuesday by State Pathologist Heidi Okkers.
Gardaí are continuing to investigate all the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting on Knocknarea Road, Drimnagh, Dublin 12.
They continue to question one teenager and two men in their 20s who were arrested near the scene and remain detained at Garda Stations in the Dublin Region under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act, 1939.
One of the men in his 20s is a violent criminal who was recently before the courts for a serious assault on a female but who was out on bail — despite grave garda objections — at the time of Mr Itseli's killing.
Video footage understood to be from the scene shows two men, one clearly wearing a balaclava and carrying what appears to be an assault rifle, jogging up the road after shots were fired. Multiple rifle casings and balaclavas were retrieved from the scene, it is understood.
The car Mr Itseli was travelling in may have been rammed by another vehicle on Knocknarea Road at around 12.15am on Monday before he was shot dead by heavily armed assailants, it is suspected.
Mr Itseli lived in the Kylemore area of Dublin for some years, not far from where he was shot dead but a most recent address listed on court documents for Mr Itseli was in Ratoath, Co Meath.
Mr Itseli was born in the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin, on January 5, 2004. At the time of his birth, his mother lived in Castleknock, Dublin 15, and his father lived in Newcomen Avenue in Dublin 3. His mother was registered as a homemaker and his father a ‘general operative’ at the time of his birth.
A number of vehicles were also seized at the scene, some of which had been reported stolen.
Following Mr Itseli’s killing, a suspected pipe bomb was found at the scene and terrified families were evacuated from their homes very early on Monday morning.
Defence Forces Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) experts were called and removed the device from the area. That device is undergoing forensic examination.
Monday's violence was an attack on the whole community, Sinn Féin Cllr Daithí Doolan, chairperson of the Joint Policing Committee and a local resident, said. A bullet also went through the local community centre which subsequently had to be sealed off as a crime scene by gardaí.
“People were terrified,” Mr Doolan said.
“Children, babies in buggies, were taken out of their houses in the middle of the night. It’s absolutely unacceptable that criminals are doing this to good, decent, hard-working communities.
“We cannot allow criminals involved in gun crime to be holding communities like Drimnagh hostage."
Gardaí are appealing for anyone with dashcam or other video footage in the Knocknarea Road area between 11.30pm on Sunday and 12.30am on Monday and CCTV footage from the wider area to make it available to gardaí.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Sundrive Road Garda Station on 01 666 6600, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any garda station.
