A teenage girl has died in hospital following a shooting incident in Tallaght in Dublin last night.
Melanie McCarthy McNamara, 16, was one of four people sitting in a car at Brookview Way at around 10.30pm.
She was shot in the head by a gunman who escaped in a stolen black Hyundai Santa Fe. She was taken to Tallaght Hospital where she died in the early hours of this morning.
Gardaí believe the teenager may not have been the intended target.
The Hyundai was later found abandoned on the Dublin-Naas road and has been taken away for forensic examination.
The girl's family said they wanted it to be known that she was never involved in anything and was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
They also said the man she was in a relationship with was in the car at the time and brought her to hospital.
Minister for Justice Alan Shatter described the shooting as "an absolutely horrific incident".
Mr Shatter said: "Gun law on the streets of Tallaght, or any other part of the city or county of Dublin or anywhere else in the country, is entirely unacceptable.
"Unfortunately, we have groups of people in the State who have no respect for human life and quite frankly, we have too many people accessing guns."
Mr Shatter extended his sympathy to the family, friends and neighbours of the dead girl and appealed for anyone with any information to come forward.
Gardaí described the shooting as a particularly heinous crime.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Tallaght Garda Station at 01-6666000, or the Garda Confidential Line 1800-666111.
