Explainer: How does a garda media blackout work in the age of social media?
Gardaí requested a media blackout during the Blanchardstown siege on Tuesday night but social media companies did not comply. By Niall O Connor Wednesday 26 May 2021, 9:00 PM Wed 9:00 PM 35,998 Views 21 Comments
Image: Niall Carson
Image: Niall Carson
A SIEGE IN Blanchardstown last night highlighted how media blackout requests from gardaí can be fraught with difficulties in an age of social media.
Sieges and “barricaded individual” incidents are complex of policing operations with dozens of specialist gardaí involved, as witnessed in Dublin 15 on Tuesday.
The successful resolution of that shooting and siege showed the importance of a negotiator and how they can turn a potential murderous situation into a calm surrendering to gardaí.
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It is understood gunshots were exchanged between armed gardaà and the suspect at one point.
At least eight shots were fired from the window of the house towards gardaà as they stood in the street. A weapon was recovered at the scene.
One of the gardaà was wounded in the hand and the other in the leg or foot. They are being treated at Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown.
The shots resulted in other gardaà on the scene diving for cover before a security cordon was thrown around the scene and nearby houses were evacuated. The scene of siege at Whitechapel Grove, west Dublin on Tuesday night. Photograph: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin