A senior Garda officer has been appointed to investigate how a powerful Garda-issued submachine gun fell from the boot of a patrol vehicle onto a busy Dublin street.
The incident occurred on Dublin's north quays in April when a Heckler & Koch MP7 submachine gun, along with ammunition, fell from a Garda vehicle. The weapon was discovered by a member of the public, who alerted a passing Garda patrol. The firearm and ammunition were subsequently recovered without incident.
The investigation will examine the circumstances surrounding the loss of the weapon, including how it was being stored and transported at the time. Garda regulations require firearms to be securely stored when not in use.
The incident marks the second known occasion on which a Garda-issued MP7 submachine gun has fallen from the boot of a patrol vehicle in Dublin.
In July 2018, a loaded Heckler & Koch MP7 fell from the boot of a Garda vehicle in Dublin city centre after the vehicle reportedly went over a road ramp. The weapon, which was being transported by an armed Garda unit involved in operations targeting organised crime, was found by a member of the public and handed into Store Street Garda Station. All ammunition was accounted for and the firearm had not been discharged.
That earlier incident prompted investigations by both An Garda Síochána and the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC). Investigators examined whether the weapon had been properly secured and whether there had been any issue with the vehicle's boot mechanism.
A subsequent GSOC report concluded that no disciplinary action should be taken against the two Garda detectives involved. The watchdog found that, on the balance of probabilities, the boot had been closed before the vehicle departed but opened as it travelled over a road ramp. The bag containing the firearm then fell from the vehicle during a turn. GSOC recommended that Garda management review and reinforce procedures governing the transportation of firearms in Garda vehicles.
The Heckler & Koch MP7 is a compact personal defence weapon used by specialist armed Garda units, including the Emergency Response Unit, Special Detective Unit and Regional Support Units. The firearm has been widely deployed by armed Garda personnel in operations targeting organised crime and gangland activity.
The latest incident is likely to raise fresh questions about firearm security procedures within An Garda Síochána, particularly given the similarities to the 2018 case. Garda authorities have not publicly indicated whether the recommendations arising from the previous investigation had been fully implemented before the April incident occurred.
The Garda investigation into the April incident remains ongoing.
