AN INQUEST INTO the fatal shooting of George Nkencho has heard he once contacted gardaí because he believed his family were trying to harm him.

The deceased’s sister, Grateful Nkencho, gave evidence that her brother was “hearing voices” at the time and gardaí had called to their home.

A sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court also heard that George Nkencho’s behaviour had changed in 2015 when he appeared to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder after he was involved in a car accident.

Nkencho (27) sustained fatal injuries after being shot by members of the Garda Armed Support Unit in the incident outside his family home at Manorfields Drive, Clonee, Co Dublin on 30 December 2020 shortly after he had been involved in a disturbance at a nearby supermarket.

The young man, the eldest of five siblings whose family originally come from Nigeria, was pronounced dead a short time later at Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown.

The inquest had previously heard evidence that Nkencho had carried out an unprovoked assault on a manager at the Eurospar store in Hartstown as well as threatening staff with a knife a short time before the fatal incident.

The deceased’s family claim the level of force used against him was disproportionate.

However, the DPP directed that no prosecution should arise over the circumstances of Nkencho’s death following an investigation by Fiosrú, (formerly known as the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission).

Nkencho’s younger sister, Grateful, also revealed on the fifth day of the inquest that she had tried ringing a number of clinics the day before the fatal shooting to get help for her brother.

However, she stressed that nothing specific had happened on the day and that she had always been wanting to get help for him because of his mental health issues.

Recalling the events surrounding her brother’s death, Ms Nkencho said she found the front door to the house wide open when she went downstairs after hearing a commotion outside.

She told the inquest that she believed it must have been opened by her brother.

When she looked out, she saw him on the ground trying to pull taser wires off his body.

Ms Nkencho said she also saw him holding what she described as a small knife in his other hand.

She also witnessed a female garda use pepper spray on her brother after which he started wiping his eyes.

Ms Nkencho said her older sister, Gloria, had tried to explain to gardaí in a loud voice that their brother was sick but claimed they did not listen to her.

The witness, who was aged 18 at the time, said her sister was “brushed away.”

“Nobody really paid attention to what she was saying,” Ms Nkencho added.

A few seconds later after the front door was closed by a garda, she heard a bang and knew it was from an officer having fired a gun.

She claimed gardaí who subsequently came into the house refused to answer their question and were “very rude.”

Ms Nkencho recalled that she had shouted at gardaí outside the house from an upstairs window: “You shot my brother. I hate you, you pigs.”

She outlined how they had to leave the house after it was declared a crime scene and went to their aunt, Grace who lived a short distance away where they were informed by two senior gardaí that George had died.

Under cross-examination by counsel for An Garda Síochána, Ronan Kennedy SC, Ms Nkencho said she had only seen her brother on the ground during the incident.

She accepted that gardaí were possibly telling her to get back from the front door of their house for her own safety.