GARDAÍ INVESTIGATING THE Carlow shopping centre shooting found a large quantity of chemicals inside a barrel at the home of the shooter. 

It is understood gardaí searched two houses linked to Evan Fitzgerald located on the Wicklow and Carlow border near the village of Kiltegan, some 40 minutes by road from the site of the shooting.

Initial tests have determined that the barrel, about the size of a beer keg, contained a chemical accelerant that could be used to make highly flammable incendiary devices. 

Fitzgerald was due to go on trial in the coming months on 13 separate charges for possession of military spec weapons, gunpowder and nitrate chemicals. 

He was also charged with offences associated with an assault rifle he bought on the dark web. The Heckler and Koch G3 rifle was seized in March 2024, along with a Remington M1911 handgun and multiple types of ammunition. 

He had since been charged with possession of other guns and ammunition.

He was arrested last year in Co Kildare by specialist gardaí from the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, who were assisted by armed officers from the Emergency Response Unit.

He was set to hear a date for his trial this week, having appeared before court again last month. 

At a hearing last year, when the then-steel yard worker was granted bail with strict conditions, the court was told he had a “fascination” with firearms but that the interest was more of a hobby than a “nefarious” one. Questions regarding his bail status have been raised by numerous politicians since Sunday night. 

1 June

Fitzgerald went to the shopping centre armed on Sunday evening at around 6.15pm and fired a number of shots into the air. He then died from a self-inflicted shotgun blast as two armed gardaí approached him.

Sources have said that a bottle shaped object found on his body was found to contain nothing of concern. A van he used to travel to the shopping centre was also searched but did not contain any illegal or potentially lethal weapons or substances.

The Journal believes Fitzgerald was wearing a gas mask during the events of Sunday night, a huge cause of concern for gardaí and military Explosive Ordnance Disposal soldiers as they arrived at the scene. 

The presence of the gas mask and the bottle on his body caused them to prepare for a possible chemical threat.

Inside Fitzgerald’s bedroom in the ensuing searches, gardaí found a large blue barrel containing a suspicious liquid which is now being examined to determine why the 22-year-old had it, and if it could have been used as or in a weapon. 

Gardaí are also examining how Fitzgerald was able to use a legally held firearm to carry out the shooting in Carlow.  

Investigators have been taking statements from people close to Evan Fitzgerald, as well as those who were among the last to see him before he travelled to the town. 

A large amount of witness statements from people who were in Carlow town is also being compiled along with a collection of all CCTV available across the gunman’s route.

An incident room has been set up in Carlow and gardaí have appealed for anyone with video footage to contact them.