Gardaí have confirmed that the victim of last night’s shooting in County Meath had been targeted before.

39-year-old Richie Carberry died in hospital after he was shot a number of times outside his home in the Castlemartin Estate in Bettystown at around 11.40pm.

He was taken to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda where he passed away shortly before 1am this morning.

His wife and children were at home during the attack.

The man’s home was also shot at in March of this year and Gardaí are investigating whether the shooting is connected to the ongoing feud in Drogheda.

In a press briefing today, Superintendent Fergus Dwyer said officers were patrolling the area shortly before the attack.

“This man, we believe, was targeted before, last March,” he said.

“We have active patrols in the area. It is part of an operational patrol that we have and in fact members were just here at the scene about 30 minutes beforehand watching the homes of individuals who are of interest to us.”

A small white van was set on fire a short distance away from the shooting on Eastham Road.

Garda crime scene investigators are currently examining both scenes, which remain sealed off this afternoon.

Supt Dwyer said the attack endangered the lives of young families and children in the area.

“In firing the shots at him, three cars were struck in the estate here,” he said. “One opposite, one next door and one in the driveway of the victim’s home.”

“That is matter of grave concern. Some of those bullets could have gone through the window of a house here. This is a residential area – a lot of young families; a lot of young children.”

He said investigators are in close contact with Drogheda Gardaí in a bid to investigate links to the ongoing gang feud, which saw a man killed in Clogherhead in Louth three months ago.

This afternoon, the Fianna Fáil justice spokesperson Jim O’Callaghan urged anyone with any information to contact Gardaí.

“We need to ensure that we do not allow feuds to spiral out of control – as has happened before – and the people responsible for it need to be brought to justice,” he said.

Local Councillor Sharon Tolan said extra resources are need to put an end to the “out and out lawlessness” surrounding with the feud.

“We need to ramp things up,” she said. “We need to catch the individual.”

“Life is precious but for these people life means nothing. They will not stop; they will not be happy until every single person that is involved is shot dead and there is nobody left and it is the innocent bystanders in all of this that are my main concern.”

Investigating Gardaí are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed this incident, or who may have information, to contact the incident room at Ashbourne Garda station on 01-801-0600, the Garda Confidential Line at 1800-666-111 or any Garda station.

They are particularly anxious to hear from road users with camera footage who were in the area at the time of shooting.

Reporting from Kacey O'Riordan in Bettystown