Gardaí in Castlerea are looking to speak with a specific individual.
Speaking at a press conference in Roscommon on Thursday afternoon, Garda Comissioner Drew Harris urged those with “CCTV footage, footage from vehicles or mobile phone footage” to make these resources available to Gardaí investigating the death of detective Colm Horkan.
Harris specifically asked that an individual who shared “an image of the scene very shortly afterwards” on social media to come forward and “present that footage,” noting that it could be very useful in the course of the investigation.
While the investigation is in its early stages, Harris confirmed that it is believed that Garda Horkan was fatally wounded with his own weapon shortly before midnight on Wednesday (17 June). The commissioner said Detective Horkan was engaged in a “conversation” with a member of the public which became “an altercation,” resulting in the discharge of Detective Horkan’s service weapon.
A man in his 40s has since been arrested in connection with the investigation, and remains in custody at Castlerea Garda Station.
Asked whether the suspect would have been known to the deceased, the Garda Commissioner said “probably,” noting Detective Horkan’s 24 years of service in the area and saying that “it would be hard to say who he wouldn’t have known”.
Castlerea has a population of just 1,992, as per the 2016 census.
Speaking to Detective Horkan’s memory, Commissioner Harris said: “We have lost, for no good purpose, a really beloved member of this community. A Garda out doing their duty, doing what I ask of them and what the community ask of them.”
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